Coastal stakeholders’ perspectives on nature-based solutions for coastal adaptation: A comparative study between Ghana and Taiwan

Abstract

Nature-based solutions (NbS) offer significant potential for adaptation to coastal hazards globally by integrating coastal protection with key ecosystem service benefits. Nevertheless, significant variations exist in their adoption. This paper explores the drivers and barriers to the wide-spread adoption of NbS for coastal adaptation in the context of Ghana and Taiwan. While both countries have initiated small-scale NbS projects, these solutions are not yet widely implemented. To highlight geographical differences, we examined the uptake of NbS for coastal adaptation by comparing two case studies. In both contexts, data was derived from a comprehensive analysis of policies, scientific literature, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and email-based surveys. Questions were structured to capture the main driving forces for adopting NbS as well as enablers and impediments to the implementation of NbS, to compare different socio-ecological contexts. Main barriers for wider uptake in Taiwan include the lack of economic benefits and community-based input, and in Ghana lack of technical expertise and distrust of nature-based solutions. Overall, the absence of policy, inadequate funding, and lack of government support for NbS are some of the findings that reoccur in both contexts. Furthermore, the results indicate that in both Ghana and Taiwan, the primary driving forces behind the adoption of NbS were a desire to achieve ecosystem restoration, safeguarding ecosystems against further degradation, and fostering economic benefits for local communities. While ad hoc implementations of NbS exist in developing nations, failure to address systemic impediments could exacerbate coastal vulnerability.