As the World Heritage Convention celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2022, over 1100 sites around the world are recognized as World Heritage - places  that are so valuable to humanity that there conservation has been deemed our collective responsibility. Yet many of these exceptional places face  increasing pressure from diverse types of development projects within and around the sites.

This publication establishes a structured, rigorous standard for cross-referencing ecosystem types to the GET. It first reviews the need for reliable interoperability among ecosystem classifications and the role of the GET as a framework for synthesis. Second, it reviews the conceptual foundations of ecosystem classifications and introduces the structure of the GET.

The IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions™ was developed during a two-year process, aiming at setting a common basis of understanding for NbS, and providing a robust framework to design, implement, assess, adapt and improve NbS. The first version of the Global Standard for NbS has eight criteria and 28 indicators, and it was launched in 2020, supported by the IUCN Resolution 060.