Cross-cutting: Stakeholder engagement and collaboration for nature-based solutions
Stakeholder involvement at all stages of NBS development is important to improve planning and design of NBS, ensure locally adapted NBS and balance multiple interests.
Specific Advice
Stakeholder involvement increases knowledge and awareness, acceptance and a sense of ownership, which in turn can ensure the long-term commitment and success of NBS.
Stakeholder involvement in NBS initiatives should be done in a structured and meaningful way. Make sure to:
- Engage a diverse range of stakeholders across sectors and scales;
- Analyse stakeholder dynamics, to assure that all relevant voices are heard;
- Build long-term relationships and trust through transparent inclusive processes;
- Use collaborative approaches to co-create solutions rather than imposing them
- Use tailored communication and skilled facilitation for engagement activities;
- Remember to reserve adequate resources for maintaining engagement through all stages of an NBS project, i.e., from the planning through implementation, maintenance and monitoring phases.
Good to Know
Structured engagement throughout the duration of a NBS project or initiative can contribute to strengthening the general trust in NBS.
Demonstrating value (e.g., using monitoring data or cost-benefit analysis) can enhance engagement.
Meaningful stakeholder engagement is a direct way of raising awareness and knowledge of NBS and thus appreciation for locally developed solutions.
It may be challenging to attract all necessary stakeholders and go beyond the usual participants (i.e., those who tend to participate often) which can limit the number of necessary perspectives needed for identifying all local challenges.
Each stakeholder will have their own interests and demands, which may present challenges during NBS co-creation. Thus, neutral expert facilitation is needed to navigate through the entire process.
Ideally, stakeholders should be involved in all stages of NBS development, fromplanning to maintenance.
It is important to ensure the diversity of participants to capture as many needs and perspectives as possible.
Context
NBS require collaborative work in a pursuit to contribute to environmental, economic and social impacts and build resilience. Involving local stakeholders can shape solutions that are relevant for local challenges, which will streamline their adoption. Contributing to generating solutions and providing local knowledge can enhance social empowerment. Local relevancy and personal involvement also create a feeling of responsibility and ownership of the solutions. Participatory processes involving stakeholders and established social relations tend to positively correlate with climate perceptions and social learning (Teodoro et al., 2021).
Meaningful engagement enables mutual learning and awareness that can stir further NBS and climate resilience development. This in turn strengthens the social learning, which contributes to supporting and mainstreaming the use of NBS, as stakeholders demand more sustainable solutions.It can also contribute to reaching a societal agreement on the benefits of NBS, which can potentially lead to commitment to their implementation.
The primary challenge is ensuring that all relevant stakeholder groups are represented in decision-making by attracting a diverse set of individuals and with varied backgrounds from multiple stakeholder groups, and encouraging their continued involvement. Stakeholders have large potential to influence how NBS are shaped and perceived. Hence, it is important to consider all stakeholders forming the quadruple helix approach to co-creating NBS innovations: academia, industry, government and citizens (Dubovik et al., 2022).
Learn more
Harnessing the Power of Collaboration for Nature-Based Solutions
is a report published by the European Commission that provides insights and practical examples for local decision-makers on how to effectively implement NBS through collaborative approaches: https://www.ecologic.eu/sites/default/files/publication/2023/33001-harnessing-the-power-of-collaboration-for-nbs.pdfThe EU funded UNaLab project
developed resources on how to develop an Urban Living Lab and how to co-create and involve stakeholders in the innovation process related to NBS: www.unalab.euThe EU funded Regions4Climate
aims to develop and demonstrate a socially-just transition to climate resilience in collaboration with regional stakeholders: www.regions4climate.euInternational Obligations
SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals
“Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.”Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, target 11
“Restore, maintain and enhance nature’s contributions to people, including ecosystem functions and services, such as regulation of air, water, and climate, soil health, pollination and reduction of disease risk, as well as protection from natural hazards and disasters, through nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based approaches for the benefit of all people and nature.”Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, target 14
“Ensure the full integration of biodiversity and its multiple values into policies, regulations, planning and development processes, poverty eradication strategies, strategic environmental assessments, environmental impact assessments and, as appropriate, national accounting, within and across all levels of government and across all sectors, in particular those with significant impacts on biodiversity, progressively aligning all relevant public and private activities, fiscal and financial flows with the goals and targets of this framework.”EU Adaptation Strategy
“More systemic adaptation: Supporting policy development at all levels and all relevant policy fields; including three cross-cutting priorities to integrate adaptation into: macro-fiscal policy; nature-based solutions; and local adaptation actions.”