Many ecosystems can reduce the impacts of disasters, by providing a buffer or protecting people from physical changes and weather events. For example, wetlands can soak up stormwater and prevent flooding, and trees can cool down a city during heatwaves by providing shade and a cooling effect as water evaporates from their leaves. Many ecosystems offer resilience in more ways than one: tree roots also help reduce the impacts of flooding, for example.

Ecosystem projects can be implemented with good intentions, like tree planting, but without appropriate technical knowledge and care, they may not flourish or survive). New ecosystems need to be designed well, cared for and maintained regularly.

Protective ecosystems can also be overwhelmed by large disaster events, like storm waves that are so high they destroy the coastal ecosystems, or damaged by construction projects. New ecosystem projects need to be planned carefully, and local communities and officials supported to care for them and protect them. Planning decisions to control unmanaged construction may also be necessary to stop private development taking over ecosystems and wild spaces.

To activate this Global Project, a player needs to tuck 1 Local Project card with a Regulation tag from their hands under this card.

Once active: Once per round, one player may ignore the effects of one Crisis card, if the effects of such Crisis can be reduced by Ecological Resilience.

• Ecosystem-based approaches to climate change adaptation (International Institute for Environment and Development, IIED)

• Ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (UN Environment Programme, UNEP)

• Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC)

• Consider volunteering to help with a local project that maintains a critical ecosystem in your area.

• Advocate for laws and policies that prevent ecosystem degradation.

• Advocate for investment in thoughtful and well-maintained ecosystem projects to protect against disasters.