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It is a fact universally acknowledged, that the best way to fight climate change would be to preserve intact nature, say scientists.

While global responses to climate change might leave humans in a worse situation than before, the large areas of preserved forests, as well as "natural" locations, might help to offset the change, according to scienceworldreport.

"In response to climate change, many local communities around the world are rapidly adjusting their livelihood practices to cope with climate change, sometimes with catastrophic implications for nature," said Tara Martin, one of the researchers, in a news release.

Worryingly, some areas of concern include conservation reserves that are employed as a reserve to feed livestock, forests in Congo Basin, Africa that are cleared for agriculture in response to drought, and coral reefs getting damaged to construct sea walls.

"These are just a few of the human responses to climate change that, if left unchallenged, may leave us worse off in the future due to their impacts on nature," said Martin. "Functioning and intact, forests, grasslands, wetlands and coral reefs represent our greatest protection against floods and storms."

Native forests bring down the frequency and severity of floods, even as coral reefs reduce wave energy by an average of 97 percent. They provide a reasonable, cost-effective defense from storm surges, as compared to engineered structures. Moreover, coastal ecosystems such as mangroves and tidal marshes can offer a more cost-effective and ecologically sound alternative to buffering storms too, rather than manmade structures.

Hence, it is important to create strategies that are "ecosystem-based", and supportive of nature.

The findings are published in the journal Nature Climate Change.