Science-based recommendations to strengthen nature-based climate action

Enlarge

The Action Programme for Nature-based Climate Protection aims to safeguard the ecological functions of forests, wetlands and other ecosystems and enhance their long-term role in climate mitigation. In its latest statement, the Scientific Advisory Board (WBNK) stresses that effective, measurable and durable climate action in these areas must be grounded in sound science.

Prof. Dr. Julia Pongratz, Chair of Physical Geography and Land Use Systems at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, was involved in drafting the recommendations as a member of the Advisory Board. The final statement was officially presented to the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection on 5 August 2025.

Among other points, the WBNK calls for:

• targeted research on underrepresented ecosystems such as riparian zones, seagrass meadows and forested peatlands
• validated carbon models and high-resolution remote sensing data
• long-term, systematically funded monitoring programmes
• robust criteria to assess effectiveness, permanence and scalability of measures
• stronger integration of biodiversity, climate mitigation and adaptation goals in both research and implementation

Through her involvement in the Advisory Board, Julia Pongratz contributes scientific expertise on land use, carbon dynamics and nature-based solutions directly to political decision-making – a key element of the Chair’s research transfer activities.

Download statement on the website of the WBNK