Financial support for integrating NBS in local policies
Allocating a dedicated budget specifically to support local efforts to prioritize NBS can significantly accelerate the adoption of NBS across municipalities.
Specific Advice
Financial incentives can be a powerful tool to encourage municipalities to adopt NBS in their policies. By allocating a dedicated budget for municipalities that integrate NBS in key policies, governments can support and reward them, enabling and encouraging more municipalities to choose NBS.
Financial incentives can take various forms, but one example on how to support municipalities is to set up a grant scheme where municipalities can get support for getting started or to further develop their commitment to NBS in policies. This can help reduce the financial strain, especially for smaller or budget-limited municipalities, and make it easier to kick-start NBS initiatives. For example, municipalities that commit to NBS in urban planning could also receive initial funding to plan pilot projects, invest in essential infrastructure or revise zoning plans. These incentives not only support early adoption but help to build long-term commitment, allowing municipalities to see the environmental and social benefits.
Good to Know
Integrating NBS in policy is only the first step in mainstreaming NBS, so it is important that financial support earmarked for implementing these policies can provide a push to action.
It is important to consider the diversity of municipalities targeted with financial incentives for NBS and develop the incentives with that in mind.
Encouraging cooperation between municipalities to take up NBS can prove useful and financial incentives can be modelled to promote such cooperation.
Engaging regional authorities when developing financial incentives for municipalities can prove useful.
Context
Municipalities are varied and are differently equipped to prioritise NBS. It is a perception that NBS will not be used if they are not mandatory, as the municipalities already have many other tasks that they are obliged to fulfil.
This is why it can be effective to use financial incentives to encourage municipalities to implement NBS in their key policies. This helps speed up NBS uptake by alleviating the funding shortages that many municipalities face, especially smaller and rural municipalities.
Examples and Cases
Nordic examples of financial support for integrating NBS in local policies:
#NORWAY – “Nature grants” for municipalities that work to protect biodiversity (Natursats)
The funding scheme Natursats is intended to help reduce the loss of nature through spatial planning and strengthen municipalities' work with biodiversity. It is administered by the Norwegian Environment Agency (Miljødirektoratet) and municipalities can apply for financial support in four different categories:
- Municipal plan for biodiversity. Financial support for the work of developing a thematic plan specifically for biodiversity. This can increase knowledge on important ecosystems and can be useful for decision making related to nature in the municipality.
- Revising existing thematic plans for biodiversity. Municipalities that have such plans, can get financial support for the work of revising them and updating the knowledge base.
- Revising existing land use plans. Financial support for the work of revising older plans for land use in the municipality to assess if they are in line with current knowledge on nature and biodiversity. See also the advice on zoning overhaul.
- Local measures to protect biodiversity. Financial support for planning and implementing measures, such as mapping ecosystems, providing information, other measures to protect or improve biodiversity.
More information about the “Nature grants” can be found here:
There is also a similar grant called Climate Action (Klimasats) which support municipalities and counties in their efforts to implement climate mitigation measures. Read more about Klimasats here: https://www.miljodirektoratet.no/ansvarsomrader/klima/for-myndigheter/kutte-utslipp-av-klimagasser/klimasats/
Learn more
Visit the websites of the environmental authorities in your country to learn more about your funding opportunities.
The Norwegian “Natursats” can be found here: https://soknadssenter.miljodirektoratet.no/NatursatsSkjema/Startside/Index?id=70
The Swedish LONA grant can be found here: https://www.naturvardsverket.se/bidrag/lona/
International Obligations
SDG 9
Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure SDG 11
Sustainable cities and communitiesEU 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.Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
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.