Natural Climate Solutions Program

About the Natural Climate Solutions (NCS) Program

The Natural Climate Solutions (NCS) Program enlists MIT’s multidisciplinary community of researchers and local partners, combining MIT’s scientific and engineering capacity with community-based planning and local expertise to create a toolkit of technology-enhanced and community-driven solutions to support communities living in vulnerable ecosystems. 

Earth’s oceans, lands, and forests are substantial global carbon sinks. Natural climate solutions account for one third of the cost-effective carbon mitigation strategies necessary to achieve the 1.5 and 2°C global warming targets. Nonetheless, key carbon sinks such as tropical forests are under severe stress and, in some cases, approaching critical tipping points.

Reducing tropical deforestation is an imperative element of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in countries with significant forested areas — such as Colombia, Brazil, Indonesia, and others. In these countries, deforestation continues to be the primary source of GHG emissions. Moreover, protecting carbon-rich ecosystems also contributes to conserving biodiversity and natural watersheds, and secures a future for indigenous and Afro-descendant communities who live and depend on the forest. 

Our work enhances the ability of local communities to protect, restore, and pioneer sustainable uses of natural capital as sources of local income, wealth, security and peace. Through deep engagement and long-term partnerships, the ESI aims to formulate and implement collaborative projects to support efforts to advance mitigation and adaptation to climate change, biodiversity conservation, and risk reduction in the Amazon and other strategic ecosystems — such as the Chocó Biogeographic region in Latin America — while strengthening local socio-economic development. 

The NCS Program efforts are focused on four main goals: 

1. Leverage technology development and community-based planning to support local communities in protecting natural carbon sinks and biodiversity;
2. Build community resilience under diversified climate risks with a focus on nature-based solutions;
3. Contribute knowledge and strengthen local capacities in establishing and maintaining bioeconomies as novel sources of inclusive and nature-positive development models;
4. Enhance voice and agency to historically marginalized communities as stewards of important ecosystems.

Partners and Strategy

The NCS Program is currently active in Colombia, our main hub and entry point to the Amazon region. Current and prospective partners include the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and Latin America’s Development Bank CAF, national agencies like the Ministry for Environment and Sustainable Development (MADS), Colombian research institutes such as Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute (IAvH) and the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM), and regional partners such as the Colombian Amazon’s regional environmental regulator, Corpoamazonia, the Sixth Division of the National Army, and local community oversight and indigenous groups in Mocoa (Putumayo). Through deep, long-term engagement with these and other partners, we are designing, executing, and disseminating new approaches to inclusive economic development in vulnerable ecosystems.

Our strategy in Colombia relies on local leadership and expertise, while introducing new technical and technological capacity where it can help align conservation with efforts to reduce socioeconomic vulnerability. We are creating a robust toolkit of natural climate solutions that includes green business labs with enhanced bio-prospecting capacity, integrated landscape management, and the deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles for participatory monitoring of carbon sequestration and climate change risks. This multidisciplinary approach will help communities in Colombia to simultaneously reduce deforestation, build capacity for climate change adaptation, and advance economic equality and opportunity.

Read more about the history of our engagement in Colombia.

Read more about the Afro-Interamerican Forum on Climate Change (AIFCC).

Contact

Marcela Angel, Research Program Director (marcelaa@mit.edu)

Recent Publications

MIT delegation mainstreams biodiversity conservation at the UN Biodiversity Convention, COP16 (MIT News, Dec. 4, 2024)

The MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative’s (ESI’s) Primer of COP16 (MIT ESI, Nov. 14, 2024)

Betting on Climate Solutions at Climate Week NYC 2024 (MIT ESI, Oct. 12, 2024)