What are nature-based solutions?
NBS has emerged more widely in the context of climate change adaptation as an umbrella concept encompassing different related approaches, including ecosystem-based adaptation, ecosystem services, and blue-green infrastructure. Some concepts, such as ecosystem services can be criticized for viewing nature mainly as a resource or service provider for humans. For NBS, it is part of the definition that they also need to benefit nature and biodiversity.
Nature-based solutions (NBS) “…are actions to protect, conserve, restore, sustainably use and manage natural or modified terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems which address social, economic and environmental challenges effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human well-being, ecosystem services, resilience and biodiversity benefits.” United Nations Environmental Assembly resolution (UNEP, 2022a)
NBS aim to holistically address climate change or other societal challenges while simultaneously providing economic, environmental and social benefits. This is based on a recognition that healthy and well-managed ecosystems are providing a range of benefits to humans, including resilience to the effects of climate change, but also that nature is threatened by human pressures and has an intrinsic value. The basis of NBS is in many ways to create a more balanced relationship between humans and the environment such that both benefit.
NBS are multifunctional, which means they can be effective ways of solving several fundamental challenges at the same time. For example, green spaces in cities can, in addition to improving recreational areas, mitigate effects of climate change by providing shade and water retention and improving biodiversity as habitats for different species.
NBS can take different forms and scales. To differentiate between them, different types of NBS have been proposed and used since 2015. One way of categorising NBS is to look at the degree of ecosystem intervention. This can broadly be divided into categories from minimal intervention to the most engineered solutions (combinations of solutions are also possible):
- Improved use of ecosystems (such as establishment of protected areas and conservation efforts)
- Management approaches for multifunctional ecosystems (such as integrated water resource management and innovative design of agricultural landscapes)
- Creation and management of new ecosystems (such as green roofs, bioswales, restoration of heavily degraded/polluted ecosystems)
Several NBS definitions have been developed over the years, including by the European Commission. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s definition of the concept in 2016 has been widely influential. In 2022, a definition was multilaterally agreed at the United Nations Environmental Assembly. The UN resolution clearly puts NBS in the context of ecosystems, thus strengthening the biodiversity and integrity aspects. Biodiversity loss, degradation of ecosystems and poor conservation of habitats pose risks to the delivery of ecosystem services and the impacts of climate change are more visible and costly. That is why there is great potential in NBS as they are largely associated with delivery of ecosystem services and benefits for improving the state of ecosystems which is also highlighted in the UN resolution. Different NBS can support the ecosystem services:
- Provisioning services are benefits that are extracted from ecosystems (e.g., water and food supply);
- Regulating services arise from the ability of ecosystems to regulate their physical, biological, chemical and other processes (e.g., air quality, carbon sequestration, flood regulation);
- Cultural services include the non-material benefits provided by nature (e.g., tourism, recreation);
- Supporting services are those sustaining the natural processes and integrity of ecosystems (e.g., pollination, nutrient cycling).
More action is needed to protect and restore the ecosystems in EU as well as for meeting the ambitions targets of EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030. The benefits of using NBS for addressing the challenges associated with climate change in different ecosystems (e.g., urban, wetland, forest) has been recognised at different levels. Nature, climate and environment focused frameworks at the global and EU levels are increasingly incorporating NBS in their agenda with the most prominent examples being the European Green Deal, EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030, EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change and UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. To streamline their use, the first major pursuit of standardising the development and use of NBS was developed by IUCN in their Global Standard for NBS in 2020. The IUCN Global Standard sets the framework for design and implementation of NBS as well as their upscaling and it is a good starting point for anyone working with NBS. IUCN also provides a guidance for using the standard including a self-assessment tool.
Common definitions and criteria are especially important when working with NBS to ensure that they have the quality and functionality needed to solve the societal challenges as intended. Concerns have been raised regarding the potential for misusing the NBS term to ‘greenwash’ climate emissions and actions not benefitting biodiversity. There is clear evidence that NBS can significantly contribute to solving societal challenges, including those exacerbated by climate change, when properly designed and implemented. However, using NBS is not an alternative to drastic cuts in climate emissions or other harmful activities – both needs to happen at the same time.
Definitions:
An ecosystem is a “a dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit.” (The Convention on Biological Diversity (UN, 1992)). Read more: https://biodiversity.europa.eu/europes-biodiversity/ecosystems
Ecosystem services are “the services that an ecosystem supplies and on which humans depend.” Read more: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/glossary/ecosystem-services.html
References:
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