The extent to which ecosystem services have been considered in the National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs) and the proposed adaptation projects is assessed. By August 2010, 44 least developed countries had prepared their NAPAs in response to climate change. The NAPAs constitute a starting point for planning adaptation nationally and sub-nationally, but need to be evaluated and improved as new knowledge emerges. Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) is an emerging approach that recognizes that ecosystem services play an important role in reducing people's vulnerability to climate change. The importance of ecosystem services is acknowledged in more than 50% of the NAPAs. Approximately 22% of the proposed projects include ecosystem activities for social well-being or adaptation, with most of them in support of other adaptation measures (e.g. infrastructure). These projects deal mainly with regulating services (soil rehabilitation, erosion control and water regulation) and provisioning services (food, fibre and fuel wood). They also have the potential to promote integrative and cross-sectoral adaptation, as many of them consider multiple ecosystem services and beneficiary sectors. However, more technical, political and financial support is needed to foster the role of ecosystem services in adaptation.Keywords: adaptation; ecosystem-based adaptation; ecosystem services; least-developed countries; National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs) La mesure dans laquelle les services écosystémiques ont été considérés dans les programmes d'action nationaux d'adaptation (PANA) et les projets d'adaptation proposés est évaluée. En août 2010, 44 des pays les moins avancés avaient préparé leurs PANA, en réponse au changement climatique. Les PANA constituent un point de départ pour la planification de l'adaptation à l'échelle nationale et sous-nationale, mais doivent être évaluées et améliorées en fonction de l'évolution des connaissances. L'adaptation fondée sur les écosystèmes (EbA) est une approche émergente qui reconnaît que les services écosystémiques jouent un rôle important dans la réduction de la vulnérabilité des populations au changement climatique. L'importance des services écosystémiques est reconnu dans plus de 50% des PANA. Environ 22% des projets proposés comprennent des activités écosystémiques liées au bien-être social ou à l'adaptation, et la plupart d'entre eux proposent d'autres mesures d'adaptation (par exemple dans l'infrastructure). Ces projets portent principalement sur les services de régulation (réhabilitation des sols, lutte contre l'érosion et régulation de l'eau) et les services d'approvisionnement (alimentation, fibres et bois de chauffage). Ces projets ont le potentiel de promouvoir une adaptation intégrée et transversale, car beaucoup d'entre eux couvrent les multiples services écosystémiques et secteurs bénéficiaires. Cependant, un soutien plus technique, politique et financier est nécessaire pour favoriser le rôle des services écosystémiques dans l'adaptation.

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Future City DescriptionAs of 2008, for the first time in human history, half of the world's population now live in cities. And with concerns about issues such as climate change, energy supply and environmental health receiving increasing political attention, interest in the sustainable development of our future cities has grown dramatically.Yet despite a wealth of literature on green architecture, evidence-based design and sustainable planning, only a fraction of the current literature successfully integrates the necessary theory and practice from across the full range of relevant disciplines.Springer's Future City series combines expertise from designers, and from natural and social scientists, to discuss the wide range of issues facing the architects, planners, developers and inhabitants of the world's future cities. Its aim is to encourage the integration of ecological theory into the aesthetic, social and practical realities of contemporary urban development. More information about this series at