AUTHOR=Le Gouvello Raphaëla , Cohen-Shacham Emmanuelle , Herr Dorothee , Spadone Aurélie , Simard François , Brugere Cécile 

TITLE=The IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions™ as a tool for enhancing the sustainable development of marine aquaculture

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1146637

DOI=10.3389/fmars.2023.1146637

ISSN=2296-7745

ABSTRACT=The concept of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) was proposed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to protect, restore, and sustainably manage natural and modified ecosystems for achieving a variety of societal benefits. The IUCN released the IUCN Global Standard for NbS™ to help design, assess, strengthen and upscale NbS interventions. In the current context of growing uncertainties for the future of coasts and oceans, aquaculture has been recognized as an activity to achieve sustainable development in coastal communities, to support food security, poverty alleviation, economic resilience, and contributing to the conservation of marine ecosystems in some cases. However, the sustainability of aquaculture systems has often been criticized. Aquaculture initiatives in coastal areas can achieve both nature conservation and sustainable development objectives, but a reflection needs to be engaged on the conditions under which this would happen. 
This article examines aquaculture systems through the lens of the NbS concept and the IUCN Global Standard for NbS™, with other sustainability concepts and instruments currently used in the context of aquaculture. The IUCN Global Standard for NbS™’s application to two case studies is explored: seaweed farming in Zanzibar in marine conservation areas; and shrimp farming coupled with mangrove restoration in Indonesia. Results show that the NbS concept underpinning the IUCN Global Standard for NbS™ could help in the overall assessment of aquaculture systems and improve their sustainability by highlighting both their positive outcomes, as well as issues requiring further examination in relation to marine biodiversity benefits, socio-economic development, and/or governance. The IUCN Global Standard for NbS™ could provide an operational framework to implement existing concepts, such as the Ecosystem Approach to Aquaculture, contribute to clarifying critical issues in aquaculture development and provide guidance for the development of a new type of aquaculture projects, specifically designed as NbS. This finding advocates for the context-dependent exploration and promotion of aquaculture projects as NbS.