Promote cross-sectoral collaboration and partnerships with industry and private actors
Overcoming sectoral silos and fostering interdisciplinary efforts between municipalities/regions, industries and private sector are key for NBS policies to succeed.
Specific Advice
For NBS actions to succeed, many different perspectives are necessary, including but not limited to those of the construction sector, nature protection and conservation, and city planning and zoning. Deeper engagement with private landowners, industry and businesses can also strengthen the NBS agenda.
As initial steps, pilot sites can be developed together with industry and private actors to demonstrate the function of NBS as well as benefits and importance of investing in NBS. Business actors can also get inspired to develop NBS solutions for a broader market. Partnerships between public entities and the private sector for example in the form of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) can contribute to the progress towards the SDGs and enhance knowledge sharing advancing technology and innovation.
Good to Know
Resistance to implementing NBS may come from more conservative industries or actors, making the educational and demonstrational aspects of NBS value crucial for gaining their support.
There is significant potential in attracting private funding for NBS, as it can unlock many possibilities and land options that were previously unavailable, e.g., due to land ownership constraints.
Engaging in collaborative projects is a straightforward way of demonstrating the value of NBS, without the private actors/industries having to explore the topic themselves.
Industries and private actors often expect immediate, demonstrable results, which may not be realistic. Therefore, managing expectations is essential.
Context
Lack of cooperation between municipalities and the local construction sector, industries and other local actors (such as businesses and private landowners) has been mentioned as a barrier to successful NBS implementation. In some cases, poor coordination between municipalities and industry leads to the development plans being altered at the final construction stages, resulting in reduced use of NBS.
Lack of financing (including private investments) and uncertainties on the return of investment is often reported as the largest obstacle to mainstreaming NBS. Bringing private landowners and industry on board can help facilitate wider NBS attractiveness, as more conservative industries and individuals understand the value of NBS for climate resilience. Cooperation can be multifaceted or focus on individual challenges such as stormwater management, heat or biodiversity. Partnerships pave the way for technology and knowledge transfer between parties as well as promotes dialogue and willingness to invest in NBS. Collaboration with private sector has been noted to drive development strategies, such as smart cities (Mora et al., 2019).
Examples and Cases
Nordic examples of promoting cross-sectoral collaboration with local industry and private actors:
#FINLAND – Climate Leadership Coalition
Climate Leadership Coalition (CLC) is the largest non-profit climate business network in Europe founded in Finland in 2014 by several large Finnish companies. CLC has 99 organisational members: 69 companies, 9 universities, 5 trade organisations, 7 cities, 6 research institutions, 2 foundations and 1 trade union confederation as well as 66 personal members. As part of the climate network, CLC members must establish ambitious climate change strategies and targets and they have a chance of participating in shaping climate policy. While CLC focuses on many aspects related to climate mitigation, adaptation and biodiversity are recognised as important aspects for cities and businesses.
More information about the Climate Leadership Coalition can be found here:
Climate Leadership Coalition: https://clc.fi/
#DENMARK – The Danish Nature Fund
The Danish Nature Fund (Den Danske Naturfond), an independent, private and non-profit fund, founded in 2015 by the Danish state and two large private conservation funds (VILLUM FONDEN and Aage V. Jensen Naturfond) aims to advance the protection of nature and water environment in Denmark. Its other purpose for the is to strengthen public support for the work with nature restoration and protection. The fund creates habitats as well as purchases land to restore nature via voluntary agreements with private landowners.
More information about the (name of the example) can be found here:
The Danish Nature Fund: https://naturfonden.dk/english/
Learn more
Guide to Biodiversity Financing for Cities and Regions.
This guide document is published by the NGO ICLEI – Local Governments for sustainability. It aims to ”serve as a one-stop-shop for local and regional governments (LRGs) to enable the development of urban biodiversity projects. The guide will also address access to finance for these projects”. It includes definitions, case studies and resources to support nature-based solutions: https://e-library.iclei.org/uploads/Biodiversity-Finance-Guide_final.pdf.Biodiversity finance decision-making tree.
ICLEI has also developed a two-page decision-making tree to support project developers to navigate among different financing instruments to help them find the most suitable ones: https://interactbio.iclei.org/wp-content/uploads/Biodiversity-Finance-Decision-making-Tree.pdf.Nature-Based Solutions: Increasing Private Sector Uptake for Climate-Resilience Infrastructure
in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) published by Inter-American Development Bank discusses the barriers and opportunities for the private sector uptake of NBS in LAC and draws recommendations for developers, financial institutions and policymakers for creating a more enabling environment for NBS. https://ppp.worldbank.org/public-private-partnership/sites/ppp.worldbank.org/files/2022-04/Nature-based_Solutions_Scaling_Private_Sector_Uptake_for_Climate_Resilient_Infrastructure_in_Latin_America_and_the_Caribbean.pdfWater in Viken Collaboration in Norway (Vann i Viken):
The Vann i Viken project is a collaboration between actors from water management and construction, aiming to develop new solutions for stormwater management around the Oslofjord. Through workshops and collaboration, it functions as a platform for industry actors to create innovative solutions that can contribute to better stormwater management, cut costs and maintenance, and avoid pollution. The project is financed by the county authority. Read more: https://constructioncity.no/nb/projects-2/vann-i-vikenhttps://www.vvsaktuelt.no/webinar-om-overvannsutfordringer-i-viken-402490/nyhet.htmlInternational Obligations
SDG 11
“Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.”SDG 17
“Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.”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.”