The Navigator was developed and is maintained as part of two International Climate Initiative (IKI) funded global projects (Ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation (EbA): Strengthening the evidence and informing policy, coordinated by IIED, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC, and Mainstreaming Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA): Strengthening EbA in planning and decision making processes, coordinated by GIZ).

Both projects aim to show climate change policy-makers when and why EbA is effective – the conditions under which it works, and the benefits, costs and limitations of natural systems approaches – and to promote the better integration of EbA principles into policy and planning.

As the projects discovered, many tools, methodologies and approaches have been developed specifically to assist people in planning and implementing EbA, or have been adapted for use in EbA from other fields.

However, the limited accessibility of tools, methodologies and technical knowledge on EbA is one of the main barriers to its wider uptake. The EbA Tools Navigator aims to reduce this barrier by assisting users in finding the tools and methods they need to support their work and expand EbA.