Abstract
To advance the science and practice of implementing nature-based solutions in cities, it is important to examine the obstacles and provide means to overcome them. This paper presents a conceptual framework of policy needs for analysing the science of nature-based solutions’ implementation and connect it to the practice of their implementation that advances the literature by connecting well-researched gaps to a more innovative action-oriented policy development approach that we argue is required for embedding scaled-up nature-based solutions. We conceptualise and ground the policy needs framework of skills, knowledge and partnerships theoretically in current literature of NBS policy and planning and empirically in three European case study cities: Genk in Belgium, Glasgow in UK and Poznan in Poland. The cross-case study analysis points to the knowledge needs of systems’ thinking and solutions-oriented thinking as paramount for implementing nature-based solutions. Our analysis further points to the skills’ needs of negotiation and collaboration for administrative silo bridging and for forging multi-sectoral partnerships essential for planning, and co-managing NBS. We conclude with three ways forward to addressing the policy needs for implementation: first, cities can invest in tailored and targeted capacity building programs, second, institutional spaces need to be established that allow for collaborative learning through and for partnerships and third, cities need to chart governance innovations that promote evidence-based policy for nature-based solutions’ design and implementation.
Highlights
Nature-based solutions have emerged as both a challenge and an opportunity to assist urban communities in the transition to greater sustainability and adaptation to climate change
We present a review of the findings in relation to the conceptual framework outlined in section 1 and in relation to recent nature-based solutions (NBS) literature that points at knowledge, skills and partnerships
Reflecting from the synthesis of the findings, we see that all three cities identified needs for knowledge, skills and partnerships in the first three phases of NBS implementation that relates to the ‘new approaches’ required in general for selecting and designing integrative systemic solutions like NBS
Summary
Nature-based solutions have emerged as both a challenge and an opportunity to assist urban communities in the transition to greater sustainability and adaptation to climate change. NBS are living solutions inspired and supported by nature that simultaneously provide environmental, social and economic benefits and help to build resilience (European Commission 2015). These solutions bring more nature and natural features and processes into cities, landscapes and seascapes, through locally adapted, resource-efficient and systemic interventions (Faivre et al 2017). Nature-based solutions (NBS) provide multiple benefits such as ecological, economic, social and business (Lafortezza et al 2018), and are advocated and evinced to be the next-generation solutions for cities to deal with climate and social pressures (Frantzeskaki et al 2019). We differentiate between knowledge gaps, skills gaps and governance gaps for implementing NBS in cities
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