Floods, flash floods and droughts are central climate impacts in urban areas in Zambia according to the scientific literature. This is underscored by recent examples of flash floods in Lusaka during the 2024/25 rainy season and increasing stress on Lusaka’s water supply.
These impacts are likely to further aggravate as climate change intensifies.
Urban Nature-based Solutions (NbS) like bio-retention basins, permeable pavements and urban gardens are potential remedies for these challenges and offer environmental and social co-benefits in comparison to conventional grey or engineered solutions. There is considerable potential for NbS to increase climate resilience in Zambia’s urban areas, particularly in Lusaka.
The next necessary step to move towards implementing NbS is to create enabling environments that incentivize the use of NbS, for example, by presenting proof of concepts and clear NbS investment cases to attract the much-needed resources for implementing NbS. For this, the National Green Growth Strategy 2024-2030 and the National Adaptation Plan 2023 can serve as central leverage points for policymakers.
This policy brief was developed in the context of the project “Implementation of Urban Nature-based Solutions for Mitigation and Adaptation” funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (Danida).
Download here| Published year: | 2025 |
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| File: | Download |
| Publisher: | UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre |