EbA E-Learning Course

Enroll now!

Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA)—also known as nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation—is increasingly gaining policy support and being implemented by diverse actors around the world.

EbA is the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of an overall strategy to help people adapt to the adverse effects of climate change, thereby protecting vulnerable ecosystems, communities, and livelihoods. Despite growing policy momentum for EbA, there is a clear need for further training to ensure that EbA actions are rights based, gender responsive, and achieve better outcomes for biodiversity.

The EbA E-Learning course—developed by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)—builds on more than a decade of research, experience, and partnerships in implementing EbA.

Offered as a massive open online course (MOOC) for a global audience, the course will equip learners with transferable and replicable skills in designing and implementing EbA initiatives by offering targeted training on key principles, risk assessments, monitoring, and governance. The course will also work to increase EbA knowledge outside of the environmental conservation community and help participants integrate EbA into other sectors, including water, agriculture, and urban environments.

The course is currently offered only in English, but a bilingual version (with French subtitles and materials, as well as case studies narrated in French) should be available in late November or early December 2022. If you are interested in the French option, please provide your contact information via our contact form to be notified when this option becomes available.

Why take the course?

Understand the role of EbA within an overall climate change adaptation strategy.
Be able to plan EbA activities in a logical order and apply EbA best practices.
Learn how to integrate rights-based approaches and other aspects such as gender, livelihoods, and Traditional Knowledge into EbA projects.
Discover how to mainstream EbA across sectors, including infrastructure, agriculture, and water resources management.

Who is the course for?

The course targets decision-makers in public and private organizations; professionals who may not be familiar with EbA but who work in a related field (development, infrastructure, agriculture, integrated water resources management); civil society organizations; actors at community, national, and global scales; early-career EbA professionals, current students, and university faculty; and EbA practitioners from both the Global North and Global South.

As the course provides a certain level of technical detail, interest in in-depth learning about planning and implementing EbA measures is a key requirement.

Course Syllabus

This self-paced e-learning course consists of nine units comprised of video lectures and case studies, quizzes, and handouts. The course will take approximately 10 hours to complete and can be completed at the convenience of the learner. Units 2–7 will each have a quiz to assess the achievement of the respective unit’s learning objectives. Handouts that summarize the unit’s content and contain additional resources on the topics discussed are also provided with each unit.

Unit 1: Introduction to the Course
A brief introduction and rationale for the course.
Unit 2: What is EbA?
Introduces the concept of EbA and its basic elements and provides an overview of common terms used in the EbA realm.
Unit 3: The EbA Mainstreaming Framework
Presents a framework for developing and mainstreaming an EbA project and highlights five cross-cutting topics of EbA.
Unit 4: Assessing Climate Risks
Guidance on the process of preparing a climate risk assessment and its importance in identifying potential EbA actions.
Unit 5: EbA Valuation
Focuses on the valuation process of EbA, including its costs, benefits, and impacts. The ability of valuation to prioritize EbA actions is also discussed.
Unit 6: From Theory to Practice: Implementing EbA
Explains a stakeholder analysis, highlights international policies aligned with EbA, and provides examples from different ecosystems and sectors.
Unit 7: Tracking the Progress of EbA Implementation: Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
Discusses a four-step process for monitoring and evaluation in EbA projects and its importance in EbA.
Unit 8: Cross-cutting Insights
Allows participants to progress through four insight units, which offer further information on the cross-cutting themes of governance, gender, Traditional Knowledge and Indigenous and Local Knowledge, and biodiversity.
Unit 9: Sectoral Insights
An option to select additional sector-specific insight units from any combination of the following topics: EbA and agriculture, EbA and water, and urban EbA.

Our Partners and Sponsors

The EbA E-Learning course is the product of a collaboration between GIZ, IUCN, and IISD and builds on a decade of research, experience, and strong partnerships in implementing EbA. The E-Learning Course has been developed with financial support from The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), and Global Affairs Canada as part of the Nature for Climate Adaptation Initiative funded by the Government of Canada.

Implemented by: