The Challenges is mitigating climate change effects in delta regions, which are critical for food production. Nature-based solutions leverage ecosystem functions to benefit society and address environmental and public health issues such as climate change and flood risk. Nature-based solutions are more cost-effective than traditional interventions and provide economic growth and improved public health.
On June 11, 2024, FFAR Senior Program Directo Dr. John Reich took part in leading the Nature-Based Futures Challenge Grand Finals, where three top teams were awarded for their innovation.
The Challenges, one of FFAR’s Scientific Workforce programs, is preparing the next generation of leaders to develop nature-based solutions through three editions of the Challenges, the first of which is awarding student research teams awards to address specific challenges in the Bangladesh River Delta. Student teams created roadmaps illustrating the nature-based future, showing anticipated and potential impacts in the next five to ten years.
Eleven finalist teams presented their nature-based solutions vision during the Grand Finals. The following three teams were awarded prizes:
- Team Delta Harmonics received a first-prize award for their roadmap to addressing groundwater depletion through widespread watershed regeneration.
- Team DeltaGo! received a second-prize award for their roadmap addressing climate impacts in coastal communities that are currently causing these communities to migrate to urban centers. Their research is based on a Multifunctional Sustainable Agroecology Zones for Coastal Livelihoods (MOSAIC) zoning schemes that uses nature-based solutions to alleviate storm surges and sea level rise.
- Team Deltability received a third-prize award for their roadmap to address specific climate changes currently hindering an interconnected, climate-resilient region in Bangladesh, where the natural ecosystem sustains food production and clean water availability.
The second and third editions of the Challenges will focus on the Mississippi Delta region and localized regions throughout Africa.