In some cases, actions supported by international donors and presented as addressing climate change adaptation and mitigation in the natural environment can have damaging consequences for people and nature as well as failing to deliver adaptation and mitigation. One example of this was presented by Work et al. , who reviewed three climate change mitigation and adaptation projects in Cambodia: an irrigation project, a protected-area forest management project and a reforestation project. In each case, they found evidence of the rights of local communities being violated, maladaptation and the destruction of biodiverse habitats. They concluded that the potential for maladaptation and adverse social and environmental impacts had been ignored by international donors and the national authorities, and that there was a need for much stricter accountability mechanisms. Moyo et al. , using case studies from South Africa, documented greater success of ecosystem restoration projects when they embraced broader SDGs, particularly enhancement of people's livelihoods. Better assessment of the impacts of adaptation and mitigation measures on people and ecosystems, before they are implemented, will be increasingly necessary to avoid unintended and damaging consequences as their deployment is scaled up . This applies to ostensibly nature-based approaches as well as more engineering-based ones.
IPCC
Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
IPCC Report