Promote and develop decision-making support tools
Enhancing such tools for NBS helps stakeholders effectively evaluate impacts, costs, and benefits. This can strengthen collaboration, improve decision quality, and build greater confidence in NBS.
Specific Advice
Promoting and developing innovative decision-making support tools is essential for effectively mainstreaming NBS through policy. These tools can include user-friendly software, interactive models, and decision matrices designed to help stakeholders evaluate the potential impacts, costs, and benefits of various NBS projects. For example, the Danish portal on climate adaptation (Klimatilpasning) provides various tools, such as those to identify areas at risk of flooding, thereby highlighting where action is needed.
By making these support tools available, local governments, practitioners and communities can be empowered to make informed choices that align with their own environmental and socio-economic contexts.. This approach not only improves the quality of decision-making but also builds confidence in the adoption of NBS strategies. Ultimately, well-designed decision-making support tools can drive investment, streamline implementation, and promote widespread adoption of NBS.
Good to Know
While decision-support tools can be very helpful, there are still often though decisions to be made. In particular if there are trade-offs to be made or different concerns to be balanced - the tool does not solve this for the decision-maker but can support informed choices.
User-friendly design: Ensure that decision-making support tools are user-friendly and accessible to all stakeholders, including local governments, practitioners, and communities. The tools should provide clear instructions and intuitive interfaces to facilitate their use by individuals with varying levels of technical expertise.
Customization for local contexts: Develop tools that allow for customization based on specific environmental, social, and economic contexts. This ensures that stakeholders can evaluate the impacts, costs, and benefits of NBS projects in a manner that is relevant to their unique circumstances.
Integration with existing frameworks: Ensure that decision-making tools align with and can be integrated into existing decision-making frameworks and policies. This alignment helps facilitate adoption and streamlines the process of evaluating NBS projects.
Continuous improvement: Implement mechanisms for ongoing feedback and continuous improvement of the tools. Regularly updating the tools based on user experiences and emerging research ensures they remain relevant and effective in supporting decision-making.
Context
Many stakeholders face significant barriers to the effective implementation of NBS due to limited resources, insufficient data, and a lack of clear methodologies for evaluating projects. For instance, municipalities in Sweden have struggled to assess the effectiveness of green infrastructure because of inadequate decision-making frameworks, which can hinder investment and public support. However, by promoting and developing decision-making support tools, such challenges can be addressed.
Such tools empower stakeholders to make informed, context-specific decisions, facilitating the integration of NBS into broader environmental and urban planning strategies. Additionally, fostering communication and collaboration across stakeholder groups equips decision-makers to implement NBS initiatives more effectively. Knowledge-sharing platforms and networks further enhance policymakers' ability to make informed decisions, promoting the adoption of innovative solutions tailored to specific contexts and needs.
Examples and Cases
Nordic examples of promoting and developing decision-making support tool:
#DENMARK – Interactive modelling tools in the online portal for Climate Adaptation
The online portal Kimatilpasning.dk is anchored in the Danish Environmental Protection Agency and represents a comprehensive approach to climate adaptation in Denmark, focusing on municipalities and utilities. This strategy outlines methods for managing climate risks, including flooding and extreme weather events, and emphasizes the importance of collaboration among local authorities, stakeholders, and communities.
The portal contains information about the latest research and development within climate adaptation in and outside of Denmark, news about climate adaptation and a number of concrete examples of adaptation and technological solutions, but also interactive tools. One of them is KAMP, which is a tool that helps Danish municipalities to model the effects of climate change. It assists in planning and prioritizing projects aimed at adapting infrastructure to handle increased rainfall and flood risks. KAMP uses simulation models (e.g. QGIS) to assess how different climate scenarios will impact stormwater management, allowing users for example to evaluate the resilience of their drainage systems and plan necessary upgrades.
This portal is relevant as it provides a structured framework for other regions facing similar climate challenges. By integrating legislation with practical tools and guidelines, it serves as a useful model for municipalities seeking to enhance their resilience to climate impacts. The approach fosters proactive planning and encourages the sharing of best practices, making it beneficial for communities globally.
More information about the Online portal for Climate adaptation can be found here:
Kommuner og Forsyning - Klimatilpasning: https://klimatilpasning.dk/kommuner-og-forsyning#SWEDEN – Regional plans of action
The regional action plans, on a county level, aim be used as a basis for knowledge, planning and prioritization in various social processes in order to be able to plan for the entire landscape. Their use contributes to promoting and coordinating the monitoring and analysis of environmental conditions and environmental targets. The use can be summarized in three main purposes:
- Basis for landscape planning in customary and sustainable management of land and water, and as knowledge basis for consultation and collaboration between different actors.
- Framework for landscape planning of public nature conservation efforts
- Basis for physical planning and assessment
Common to all the counties regional action plans is that they describe where in the county there is valuable nature and ecosystem services, or a lack thereof. Analyses and descriptions of the distribution of different types of qualities are included. An important aim of the work is that all actors should have access to the same knowledge and planning basis to facilitate planning from a landscape perspective. The goal is that it should contribute to an increased consensus around where there are particularly valuable areas and areas in need of action.
More information about the regional plans of action can be found here:
https://www.naturvardsverket.se/amnesomraden/mark-och-vattenanvandning/gron-infrastruktur/regionala-handlingsplaner/Learn more
Regreen Decision support tool:
An online decision tool for nature-based solutions, including planning and management, co-benefit optimization, and building business models. The tool is developed by the EU Horizon project Regreen. https://nature-solutions.eu/decision-support-tool/Decision-making in a nature positive world:
A tool to advance organisational understanding of NBS projects to accelerate their adoption within companies. It is designed by The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL): https://www.cisl.cam.ac.uk/resources/publications/decision-making-nature-positive-worldThe Urban GreenUP NBS Selection Tool:
This tool in the format of an excel spreadsheet is designed to help make decisions between different types of urban NBS. It was developed in the EU Horizon Urban GreenUP project: https://www.urbangreenup.eu/resources/nbs-selection-tool/nbs-selection-tool.kl International Obligations
EU Green Deal and EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 that aim to restore nature and enable biodiversity – target 2
Decision-making support tools provide critical data and analytical capabilities that help policymakers assess the impacts of their decisions on biodiversity. By improving the understanding of ecological dynamics and enabling more informed choices, these tools facilitate the sustainable management of natural resources, aligning with the strategy’s goals for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.
Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction
“It aims to achieve the substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health and in the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets of persons, businesses, communities and countries over the next 15 years.”