Our Research

Evidence for leveraging change in nature-based solution policy and investment.

Research at the PiNC Lab explores the enablers and constraints of effective and equitable nature-based solution across all phases including design, planning, implementation, maintenance, monitoring and evaluation. All projects at the lab fall within the below research themes. Read our full list of publications here.

Social impacts & equity

Our research examines the relationship between equitable and effective nature-based solutions, and how different solutions build adaptive capacity and reduce sensitivity climate risks. 

Environmental impacts    

We investigate ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies between nature-based solutions used for adaptation and mitigation, particularly for water-carbon couplings and food production.

Finance & capacity 

We focus on understanding what factors and evidence types incentivise investment in equitable and effective nature-based solutions, and explore approaches that enable those in practice and policy to support this.

Governance

Our research examines the governance of nature-based solutions, aiming to shed light on how they can play a role in development that is just, sustainable and climate resilient for all.

Featured publications

Importance of methodological pluralism in deriving counterfactuals for evidence-based conservation.
Conservation Biology, 2024

Research priorities for
climate mobility.
One Earth, 2024

Vegetation and fire
history of Bwabwata
National Park, Namibia.
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 2024

Current Projects

Albatross

The PiNC Lab is part of the Albatross research consortium (2024-2027) that aims to co-create innovative climate services to support nature-based solutions in sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically the lab contributes to:

  • Exploring needs and opportunities across a diverse set of user types (WP4 lead).

  • Modelling climate change and socio-economic impacts on ecosystems and ecosystem services (WP2 task lead).

  • Co-creation approaches in the Umzimvubu Catchment in South Africa (WP3 hub lead).

  • Development of services for supporting climate responsive decisions for nature-based solutions (Across WP tasks).

Tuwe Pamoja

The PiNC Lab co-leads the Tuwe Pamoja project at ACDI, which aims to support the co-governance of equitable urban nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation in sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically the lab is:

  • co-leading the development and operation of a strengthening capacity and research framework across four pilot cities and scaling to African and global networks.

  • co-leading oversight to locally led strengthening capacity activities across four cities: Cape Town (South Africa), Lusaka (Zambia), Accra (Ghana) and Nairobi (Kenya), done by universities, NGOs and CBOs based in these cities

  • co-leading scaling approaches to support sharing across regional and international networks (WP3 co-lead).

TES NbS

The PiNC Lab leads the TES NbS project, which aims to support equitable and sustainable nature-based solutions in southern Africa through greater awareness of the opportunities, constraints and limits of nature-based solutions. Focusing on southern Africa’s areas important for water supply (known as Water Towers) the Lab specifically explores:

  • Water-carbon ecosystem service trade-off and synergies with different types of nature-based solutions and climate change.

  • Constraints and enablers or social equity in nature-based solutions through reviewing and telling stories of past impacts.

  • the challenges and successes of sustainable grazing NbS programmes in Botswana and South Africa.

Climate Change Science Support for Unlocking Finance for Ecosystem-based Adaptation in South Africa

The PiNC lab co-leads the CCSS collaboration between ACDI and the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), to provide science support to SANBI's Green Climate Fund programme of work.

Our work includes ensuring that science underpins the development of a portfolio of ecosystem-based adaptation projects in South Africa with a focus on:

  • Disaster risk reduction, water and agriculture.

  • Supporting climate risk assessment processes.

  • Strengthening gender and equity in the SANBI Green Climate Fund ecosystem-based adaptation proposal development and in climate change adaptation research.