Blogs and Features

Twelve years ago, a powerful, La Niña-fueled storm brought torrential rain to Colombia. Massive flooding and landslides caused hundreds of deaths. The capital city, Bogotá, experienced one of the worst emergencies in its history when its namesake river, Rio Bogotá, overflowed and reclaimed its floodplain. 

Indigenous communities in the Andean highlands have been leveraging natural ecosystems to manage water resources since the dawn of civilization. The region’s unique and extreme seasonal precipitation acted as a catalyst for hydrological innovations, and over time its people cultivated deep knowledge of surface and groundwater systems. 

Like many cities, Sierra Leone’s capital city, Freetown, is grappling with rapid urbanization. The influx of people has led to deforestation and increased disaster risk for residents in precarious areas. In response, the World Bank is supporting a local government effort to restore canopy cover and provide natural protection again landslides, flooding, and coastal erosion.

Fishermen in Indonesia know it from experience: the country’s mangroves are not just stabilizing an eroding coastline and preventing coastal flooding; they are also important carbon sinks, supporting marine biodiversity and local fisheries. The erosion of coastlines and a sharp decline in annual income for fishing households -- 5 to 10 times the rate of mangrove loss-- are dire consequences when these coastal forests disappear.

Vietnam, with its vast coastline extending over 3,000 kilometres, is not only home to prosperous fisheries and socio-economic activities but also bears the brunt of rising sea levels, flooding, and storms. Women and vulnerable groups are especially susceptible to the negative impacts of disasters and face a continuing income gap.