Action Area 4 – Exchange, capacity building and awareness

Contribute to raising the awareness of citizens and other societal actors regarding NbS, for example, by identifying awareness-raising factors and developing participatory approaches and governance systems that bring together multiple perspectives, e.g., from public administrations to residents, or academics, practitioners, policy makers, NGOs and residents in the design and assessment of NbS, and can support the resolution of conflicts such as perceived disservices of NbS or conflicting land uses. Promoting NbS in education was also identified as a key avenue to advancing societal awareness on NbS. From primary to higher education, R&I can help the integration of NbS into educational curricula and materials by e.g., developing educational resources, fostering collaboration with educational institutions, and disseminating research findings. 

References

Eggermont, H. et al. Strategic Research & Innnovation Agenda : Horizon Europe Partnership on Biodiversity. (2021).

European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation et al. Nature-based solutions: state of the art in EU funded projects. (Publications Office of the European Union, 2020).

European Environment Agency. Nature-based solutions in Europe policy, knowledge and practice for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. (Publications Office of the European Union, 2021).

Raymond, C. M. et al. An impact evaluation framework to support planning and evaluation of nature-based solutions projects: prepared by the EKLIPSE Expert Working Group on nature-based solutions to promote climate resilience in urban areas. (Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Wallingford, 2017).

Uktrash, S. Integrating Nature in Education: Unlocking the Potential of Transformative Learning for Sustainability.(2023).

Involve citizens in knowledge co-creation and NbS implementation by, e.g., developing effective and easy to apply methods and approaches to engage communities in knowledge development, and advancing citizen science in NbS monitoring and management. Furthermore, ways and means need to be found to integrate such methods and approaches into government processes and decision-making (where appropriate) as well as into research and implementation projects, also reflecting equity and addressing inclusiveness (e.g., genre, geographic, socio-economic…). 

References

Russo, A. & Cirella, G. T. Urban Ecosystem Services: Current Knowledge, Gaps, and Future Research. Land 1

Providing space and developing methods for the co-production of NbS for the integration of scientific disciplines and the engagement of stakeholders in knowledge development and implementation. This includes the development of processes for the engagement of stakeholders in NbS design, including at the landscape level and across different socio-ecosystems (e.g., urban-rural) and in the longer-term. It also entails the development of novel approaches in R&I such as open innovation processes to advance the co-production of NbS and secure the active and ongoing participation of stakeholders across sectors in NbS projects, although the regional and cultural component of securing this participation should be recognised, both as a potential opportunity for cross-learning across regions and as a potential barrier for transposing successful processes. In addition, treating NbS dimensions in isolation, whether it be in a perspective of multi- or transdisciplinary, can render negative trade-offs, for example, between biodiversity, carbon sequestration and wood production in forest management, calling for increased investment in inter- and transdisciplinary R&I for achieving the co-benefits of NbS.

References

Aggestam, F. et al. Can nature conservation and wood production be reconciled in managed forests? A review of driving factors for integrated forest management in Europe. J. Environ. Manage. 268, 110670 (2020).

European Commission Directorate General for Research and Innovation. The vital role of nature-based solutions in a nature positive economy. (Publications Office of the European Union, 2022).

European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation et al. Nature-based solutions: state of the art in EU funded projects. (Publications Office of the European Union, 2020).

European Environment Agency. Nature-based solutions in Europe policy, knowledge and practice for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. (Publications Office of the European Union, 2021).

Raymond, C. M. et al. An impact evaluation framework to support planning and evaluation of nature-based solutions projects: prepared by the EKLIPSE Expert Working Group on nature-based solutions to promote climate resilience in urban areas. (Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Wallingford, 2017).

Better integrating diverse perspectives, values and needs of stakeholders in assessing NbS, closely linked to the development of valuation methods that take account of NbS co-benefits and the multiple values of nature, including relational, intrinsic and instrumental values, is crucial for advancing the understanding of the delivery of benefits and trade-offs in the complex socio-ecological context of NbS. This includes mixed-method R&I designs that balance the need for qualitative and quantitative assessment of NbS impacts, but also the relative variation of costs and benefits of NbS in different settings which highlight the challenge for R&I to work with varying perspectives at scale and the need for contextualised and place-specific assessments and indicators of NbS performance.  

References

European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation. Evaluating the impact of nature-based solutions: a handbook for practitioners. (Publications Office of the European Union, 2021).

European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation et al. Nature-based solutions: state of the art in EU funded projects. (Publications Office of the European Union, 2020).

European Environment Agency. Nature-based solutions in Europe policy, knowledge and practice for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. (Publications Office of the European Union, 2021).

Raymond, C. M. et al. An impact evaluation framework to support planning and evaluation of nature-based solutions projects: prepared by the EKLIPSE Expert Working Group on nature-based solutions to promote climate resilience in urban areas. (Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Wallingford, 2017).

Supporting the development of skills for the planning, implementation, long term stewardship, monitoring and assessment of impacts and adaptive management of NbS, with a recognised need for further transfer of technical knowledge on NbS, for example, in assessing trade-offs and synergies and optimising the use of technical solutions, and also related to issues in access to information and evidence, e.g. issues in communicating thermal tolerance data to local stakeholders in a meaningful way or difficulties in accessing information on legal instruments and requirements for NbS implementation. The overload with existing information and potential indicators also appears to be significantly hindering stakeholder capacities for NbS implementation, suggesting a potential for R&I in further accompanying stakeholders in doing so. 

References

Aggestam, F. et al. Can nature conservation and wood production be reconciled in managed forests? A review of driving factors for integrated forest management in Europe. J. Environ. Manage. 268, 110670 (2020).

Egusquiza, A., Cortese, M. & Perfido, D. Mapping of innovative governance models to overcome barriers for nature based urban regeneration. IOP Conf. Ser. Earth Environ. Sci. 323, 012081 (2019).

European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation et al. Nature-based solutions: state of the art in EU funded projects. (Publications Office of the European Union, 2020).

Somarakis, G., Stagakis, S. & Chrysoulakis, N. ThinkNature / Nature-Based Solutions Handbook. (2019) doi:10.26225/JERV-W202.

Toxopeus, H. & Polzin, F. Reviewing financing barriers and strategies for urban nature-based solutions. J. Environ. Manage. 289, 112371 (2021).

R&I into finance and business models is needed to support the development of comparisons of NbS between NbS and “grey” or “hybrid” solutions on timescales compatible with global change, e.g. by helping clarify investment needs through the use of scenarios combining blue-green infrastructure and grey infrastructure or different levels of the implementation of blue-green infrastructure. In addition, advancing the operational understanding of NbS economics appears to be a key component of this lever, from developing financial models for NbS and clarifying NbS benefits in cost-benefit analysis approaches for investment feasibility, to better understanding cost structures and maintenance costs of NbS, or advancing national and EU-wide data and market analyses on emerging and more mature NbS market sectors. More research is needed on how NbS can support the achievement of different sustainability pathways, including those for maximising utility (green economy), those that set minimum and maximum consumption thresholds (degrowth), those that support rights and empowerment of diverse communities (earth stewardship) and those that promote biodiversity conservation.

References

Anguelovski, I. & Corbera, E. Integrating justice in Nature-Based Solutions to avoid nature-enabled dispossession. Ambio 52, 45–53 (2023).

Cohen-Shacham, E. et al. Core principles for successfully implementing and upscaling Nature-based Solutions. Environ. Sci. Policy 98, 20–29 (2019).

Colombo, L. A., Bailey, A. R. & Gomes, M. V. Scaling in a post-growth era: Learning from Social Agricultural Cooperatives. Organisation 135050842211474 (2023) doi:10.1177/13505084221147480.

European Commission. Directorate General for Research and Innovation. The vital role of nature-based solutions in a nature-positive economy. (Publications Office of the European Union, 2022).

European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation et al. Nature-based solutions: state of the art in EU funded projects. (Publications Office of the European Union, 2020).

Grace, M. et al. Priority knowledge needs for implementing nature-based solutions in the Mediterranean islands. Environ. Sci. Policy 116, 56–68 (2021).

Hamel, P. & Tan, L. Blue–Green Infrastructure for Flood and Water Quality Management in Southeast Asia: Evidence and Knowledge Gaps. Environ. Manage. (2021) doi:10.1007/s00267-021-01467-w.

Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform On Biodiversity And Ecosystem Services. Summary for policymakers of the methodological assessment of the diverse values and valuation of nature of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). https://zenodo.org/record/6522392 (2022) doi:10.5281/ZENODO.6522392.

Seddon, N. et al. Understanding the value and limits of nature-based solutions to climate change and other global challenges. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. B Biol. Sci. 375, 20190120 (2020).

UNEP-IEMP. Research on Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA): A reference guide. (2019).