Holyrood Park Lothian landscape, Scottish Lowlands in spring in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.

Scottish Nature-based Solutions Hub

Scotland’s entry point for working with nature to address societal challenges.

Connect with local authorities, agencies, infrastructure providers, land managers, researchers, practitioners and communities. Explore trusted guidance, Scottish case studies, practical learning and opportunities to share your work.

Supported by IUCN and ICLEI. Hosted on the UrbanByNature platform.

What the Hub does

The highway and beautiful mountain vistas in Scottish Highlands near Isle of Skye Scotland UK

Define

Clear language, current standards and practical starting points.

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making a decision looking at notes on a page

Learn

Lunch & Learns, webinars, workshops, recordings and slides where permission allows.

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Scottish Thistles with purple flowers and spiky leaves growing at edge of a farm hay field with clouds in a blue sky

Share

Searchable case studies with evidence, honest lessons and transferable tools.

Explore case studies
Aberdeen, Scotland, UK - July 7, 2024: Union Terrace Gardens, located in Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom.

Deliver

Routes to sector guidance, professional resources, funding, valuation and delivery support.

Our work
macro mushroom on brown and yellow leaves

Grow

Mailing list, calls for speakers and case studies, sister-hub links and next-generation capacity.

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tree roots covered in bright green moss

Connect

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Navigate your route to NbS

Principles travel; practices do not. The quality principles can be applied across Scotland, but the intervention must be adapted to local ecosystems, communities, land uses, climate risks and delivery conditions. A mangrove intervention does not transfer to Scotland; the underlying principles of coastal protection, ecological integrity and community benefit do.

1. Join Connect with the Hub, define the challenge and identify people who need to be involved. 2. Explore Understand the place, ecosystem, community, evidence and range of possible responses. 3. Prioritise Compare options, benefits, risks, trade-offs, distributional impacts and fit with the IUCN Standard. 4. Commit & Plan Agree governance, finance, responsibilities, safeguards, permissions and measures of success. 5. Implement Deliver the intervention with appropriate technical, ecological and com

Our focus

Fast-flowing water runs over rocks with scattered yellow leaves, forming a refreshing stream scene within a tropical forest environment.

Why

• Water security

• Biodiversity recovery

• Health and well-being

• Fair access and resilient places

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Purple Wildflowers Growing in Burnt Pine Forest After Fire

What

• Restoration

• Blue-green infrastructure and SuDS

• Natural flood management

• Urban forestry

• Nature networks

• Nature-positive places

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Atlantic puffins interacting on coastal cliffs of Lunga, Treshnish Isles, Scotland, United Kingdom

How

• Co-creation and governance

• Evidence and valuation

• Monitoring and evaluation

• Adaptive management

• Learning and knowledge exchange

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