Siobhan McQuaid, Trinity College Dublin and Horizon Nua has been invited to participate at the Joint Meeting of the Economic and Financial Committee (Second Committee) of the United Nations General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on Tuesday, 15 October 2019.
The objective of this joint meeting of the Second Committee and ECOSOC is to provide a deeper understanding of how an ecosystem approach grounded in nature-based solutions can be applied to accelerate implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals including biodiversity based 2020 targets. Bringing together experts from a range of scientific, academic, and policy backgrounds, the discussion explores the concept of nature-based solutions and the opportunities they hold for sustainable development around the world.
The event underscores key opportunities and challenges in the shift to nature-based solutions, with the goal of identifying areas for the formation of partnerships and the development of enabling policies to support the implementation of nature-based solutions. Key questions to be addressed at this meeting include:
- What are nature-based solutions, and how do they differ from technology-based solutions?
- How can ecosystem approach grounded in nature-based solutions be leveraged to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals?
- What are the most significant opportunities and barriers to the implementation of nature-based solutions, and how can they be overcome?
- Which industries and stakeholders are leading the transition to ecosystem approach grounded in nature-based solutions? What role do government officials, policymakers, scientists, and civil society play in this transition? How can they be supported?
Siobhan has been asked to contribute on sustainability, resilience, and innovation and nature-based entrepreneurship. She will share the results of Connecting Nature research on financing and business models underpinning the sustainability of nature-based solutions and the translation of this research into practice through workshops being delivered on the ground in cities by Horizon Nua.
View Siobhan presenting at the at the Joint Meeting of the Economic and Financial Committee here.