Making sense of Nature-based Solutions: governance, knowledge and justice issues
This project examines the challenges and opportunities for scaling up the implementation of Nature-based Solutions.
Details
- Period: 2025-01-01 – 2026-12-31
- Budget: 400,000 SEK
- Funder: UUniCORN (Uppsala University Conflicting Objectives Research Nexus)
- Type of funding: Project funding
Description
The world is facing severe environmental challenges, with many ecosystems approaching critical and potentially irreversible thresholds. To move toward a sustainable future, societies must rethink how they engage with nature, aligning economic and social needs with the ecological systems that sustain them. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are increasingly recognised as a key strategy in this transformation.
According to the IUCN, NbS are actions that protect, manage, and restore ecosystems in ways that address societal challenges while improving human well-being and supporting biodiversity. The European Commission highlights their cost-effectiveness and capacity to generate environmental, social, and economic value while strengthening resilience.
NbS can take many forms. Urban initiatives, such as green roofs, help reduce stormwater runoff, cool buildings, and mitigate urban heat. Larger-scale measures, such as reforestation along rivers, reduce flood risks, improve water quality, and create long-term benefits for communities.
Our project explores the opportunities and barriers to scaling up NbS. By synthesizing existing research and drawing on expert perspectives, we seek to identify effective pathways for wider implementation.
The project is funded by UUniCORN (Uppsala University Conflicting Objectives Research Nexus) and contributes to the UUniCORN research theme Conflicts between conservation and production. As part of this work, a new interdisciplinary research network on NbS has been established at Uppsala University, with a report on its activities available on the UUniCORN website.