Five tips for nature-based solutions to combat climate change consequences

The recreational value of a landscape is also taken
 into account in nature-based solutions.
Credit: RUB, Marquard

What works in pilot projects does not have to work in real life.

In order to stop climate change and reduce its consequences, nature-based solutions are well suited: Inspired or supported by nature, they can preserve biodiversity and prevent flooding from flooding. Their implementation works in pilot projects - but how can they be implemented on a large scale under normal conditions? A team from Müncheberg, Hanover, Leipzig, Potsdam and Bochum proposes five principles - among other things, to take advantage of the opportunities of the Corona crisis. The suggestions are on 8. February 2022 published in the magazine npj Urban Sustainability.

Inspired by nature

Nature-based solutions master ecological, social and economic challenges in a way that is inspired or supported by nature. This includes green infrastructure that cushions the effects of climate change in cities, the restoration of meadows and wetlands, the effects of flooding rivers, and measures in agriculture to preserve biodiversity. Many countries see nature-based solutions as a central contribution to reducing and adapting to climate change. They can help achieve global sustainability goals, such as health and well-being, sustainable cities and towns, and sustainable land use.

Many international research and innovation projects develop and test strategies for using nature-based solutions. "However, from our point of view, previous projects are insufficient to achieve a range of nature-based solutions on a larger scale or even across the board," says Dr. Barbara Schröter from the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Landscape Research. Previous pilot projects mostly only support very small projects and are not embedded in more comprehensive, regional strategies. They also benefit from unusual financial and institutional support, which is not realistic in its broad application practice. "And above all, current pilot projects are still far too little concerned with the considerable obstacles in political decision-making and actual practical implementation," said Prof. Dr. Christian Albert from the Geographical Institute of the RUB .

Plan participation

• Together with colleagues, Barbara Schröter and Christian Albert propose five principles in order to take nature-based solutions into account in decisions in the future and actually implement them
• Use a strategic approach that takes into account different stakeholder interests as well as local, regional and national levels of planning and decision making.
• Provide sufficient financial and other institutional incentives for integrated, participatory processes.
• Establish systematically appropriate forms for governance and management, and win intermediaries or multipliers for the advancement of nature-based solutions.
• Use the opportunities of the current corona, climate and biodiversity crisis to advance a profound, transformative change in our way of dealing with nature and landscape.
• Learn from experiences using nature-based solutions in other parts of the world.

“Current opportunities should be used when applying the principles: On the one hand, by rebuilding the economy after Corona sustainably and intelligently with nature-based solutions. On the other hand, by taking nature-based solutions into account more than before when developing sustainable cities and landscapes,” emphasizes Christian Albert.

Source/Credit: Ruhr University Bochum

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