Using ecosystem services to measure the degree to which a solution is nature-based

Resource type: 
Research
EU project stamp: 
Yes
Main entity: 
Trinity College Dublin
Type of entity: 
Research centre/University
Funding: 
EU Horizon 2020
Key themes: 
Business
Conservation
Economic and social development
Ecosystem-based Adaptation
Finance
Societal challenges: 
Biodiversity Enhancement
Climate Resilience
Food security
Green Space Management
Health
Health, Wellbeing & Air Quality
Natural and Climate Hazards
New Economic Opportunities & Green Jobs and Participatory Planning and Governance
Social Capacity Building for Sustainable Urban Transformation
Social Justice and Social Cohesion
Water Management
Scope: 
Global
Description: 

This paper claims that, what is meant by Nature-based is not well defined and there has been little effort to rigorously understand how a solution is created. It proposes an integrated conceptual framework, extending the service-benefit relationship to include solutions. The paper presents a method to measure the degree to which a solution is Nature-based: calculate the relative contribution of ecosystem services, compared with technological services and labour. The method and framework are applied to projects dealing with problems related to water pollution, demonstrating their applicability. The framework can be a useful tool to guide environmental managers in identifying both the scale and context at which, and the problems to which, Nature-based Solutions are applicable.

Date: 
2021
Journal: 
Ecosystem Services
Language: 
EN