Carbajal, Maria Ines

The escalating, increasingly frequent, and costly impacts of climate change have created an urgent need for effective solutions. Nature-based solutions (NbS) have emerged as a valuable strategy for carbon dioxide removal, biodiversity conservation, and local development. While NbS are gaining traction among environmental organizations, the private sector, and institutional actors, some local movements in Latin America resist what they view as "false solutions." These movements argue that a genuine NbS framework requires a holistic perspective that considers local realities, inequalities, and the intricate relationships between humans and nature. In this paper, we unpack the need to seek and develop local and pluralistic narratives of climate solutions that highlight the relationality and interdependence between humans and non-human agents when addressing complex environmental and developmental issues. Our theoretical framework focuses on three salient constructs that interact in global and local conversations about climate change mitigation and environmental conservation: the Anthropocene, Nature-based Solutions, and Indigenous narratives regarding the relationships that sustain life.By critically examining the concept of Nature-Based Solutions, we explore its connections to the Anthropocene framework. We also use Indigenous narratives as a contrasting lens to deepen our understanding of NbS. Drawing on document reviews and empirical data from Panama, Peru, and Bolivia, this analysis underscores the vital role of local and Indigenous perspectives as essential practical, theoretical, and analytical tools for transforming the relationship between humans and nature. This analysis contributes to the empirical discussion on why local and Indigenous narratives must be seriously considered as practical, theoretical, and analytical lenses to inform and transform the relationship between humans and nature in the context of the urgent action needed to address climate change.