Nature-based solutions

A need for multi-functional assessment tools evaluating trade-offs and co-benefits for various types of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) has been increasingly identified in recent years. Methodologically, concepts for a tool are presented which include quantifying the demand and potential for NBS to enhance ecosystem service (ES) provision, and linking ESs to readily quantifiable and legislatively-relevant environmental quality indicators (EQIs). The objective of tool application is to identify optimal NBS placement across a diverse set of socio-environmental indicators, whilst also incorporating issues of relative location of areas of implementation and benefit accrual. Embedded within the tool is the importance of evaluating outcomes in terms of economic benefits and of sustainable development goals. The concepts are illustrated with simplified examples, relating to the case of implementing urban forestry as an exemplar NBS. By summarising the knowledge base it is demonstrated that be...

Developing a general, predictive understanding of ecological systems requires knowing how much structural and functional relationships can cross scales and contexts. Here, we introduce the CROSSLINK project that investigates the role of forested riparian buffers in modified European landscapes by measuring a wide range of ecosystem attributes in stream-riparian networks. CROSSLINK involves replicated field measurements in four case-study basins with varying levels of human development: Norway (Oslo Fjord), Sweden (Lake Mälaren), Belgium (Zwalm River), and Romania (Argeş River). Nested within these case-study basins include multiple, independent stream-site pairs with a forested riparian buffer and unbuffered section located upstream, as well as headwater and downstream sites to show cumulative land-use impacts. CROSSLINK applies existing and bespoke methods to describe habitat conditions, biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning in aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Here, we summarize...

This chapter presents a brief overview of the policy design and theoretical environmental economic principles that underpin the concept of emissions trading systems (ETS) as a policy approach to address climate change. It discusses basic environmental economic principles pertinent to the development of marketbased solutions to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) and co-pollutants. The chapter serves as the technical basis for the broader discussion that this book as a whole presents on the launch of the pilot phase of the Mexican ETS on January 1, 2020. Understanding international program design experiences, theoretical principles, and implementing best practices is key to ensuring Mexico's success in the transition from the pilot or learning phase to an operational ETS compliance system. This will ensure Mexico fulfills its national climate policy goals and nationally determined contributions (NDC) under the Paris Agreement in a cost-effective manner, while also providing compliance flexibility to the industrial sectors covered under the program. A well-designed ETS ultimately provides the right incentives for industrial carbon emission reductions to drive cost-effective abatement and clean innovation. Secondly, this chapter presents a more in-depth review of policy developments focusing specifically on key implementation lessons from the two most advanced ETS systems in operation to date: (1) the European Union ETS and (2) California's cap-and-trade program. In short, this chapter outlines a set of key policy lessons and design parameters to support the transition from the pilot Mexican ETS to an operational compliance phase in a socially just, environmentally sound, and cost-effective manner.

Diminishing prospects for environmental preservation under climate change are intensifying efforts to boost capture, storage and sequestration (long-term burial) of carbon. However, as Earth's biological carbon sinks also shrink, remediation has become a key part of the narrative for terrestrial ecosystems. In contrast, blue carbon on polar continental shelves have stronger pathways to sequestration and have increased with climate-forced marine ice losses-becoming the largest known natural negative feedback on climate change. Here we explore the size and complex dynamics of blue carbon gains with spatiotemporal changes in sea ice (60-100 MtCyear −1), ice shelves (4-40 MtCyear −1 = giant iceberg generation) and glacier retreat (< 1 MtCyear −1). Estimates suggest that, amongst these, reduced duration of seasonal sea ice is most important. Decreasing sea ice extent drives longer (not necessarily larger biomass) smaller cell-sized phytoplankton blooms, increasing growth of many p...

The UN declaration of the Decade of Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030 emphasizes the need for effective measures to restore ecosystems and safeguard biodiversity. Large herbivores regulate many ecosystem processes and functions; yet, their potential as a nature-based solution to buffer against long-term temporal declines in biodiversity associated with global change and restore diversity in secondary forests remains unknown.
    By means of an exclusion experiment, we tested experimentally the buffering effects of large wild herbivores to avert against long-term biodiversity collapse in old-growth and secondary tropical forests in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil where sapling abundance and species richness declined c. 20% over the course of 10 years. The experiment comprised 50 large herbivore exclosure-open control plot pairs (25 at the old-growth forest and 25 at the secondary forest), where 2 m2 were monitored in every plot during a 10-year period.
    Large herbivores were able to decelerate diversity declines and compositional change in the species-rich old-growth forest, but only decelerated compositional change in the secondary forest. In contrast, declines in species richness and abundance were unaffected by large herbivores on either forest.
    The buffering effects of large herbivores were strongly nonlinear and contingent on the initial level of diversity at the patch scale: highly diverse communities suffered the strongest collapse in the absence of large herbivores. Thus, larger buffering effects of large herbivores on the old-growth forest are the logical consequence of large herbivores buffering the many high diversity plant communities found in this forest. Conversely, as the secondary forest held fewer high diversity patches, buffering effects on the secondary forest were weak.
    Synthesis and applications. Our study indicates that large herbivores have moderate yet critical effects on slowing down community change and diversity loss of highly diverse plant communities, thus suggesting that the conservation of (and potentially trophic rewilding with) large herbivores is a fundamental nature-based solution for averting the global collapse of the strongholds of biodiversity. Its buffering effects on biodiversity loss operate at very small spatial scales, are likely contingent on successional stage and are most effective in old-growth or high diversity secondary forests.

Cities often don't appreciate the benefits of green infrastructure (GI) enough. To recognise the extent to which green infrastructure and nature-based solutions (NbS) are present in the urban policy, we conducted a review of planning, strategic and programming documents of Poznań City as a Case Study. The study is aimed at 1) diagnosing of current position NbS in the tasks and directions of planning, strategic and programming documents ; 2) characteristic of activities related to NbS according to the form of human-nature interaction; 3) determining the potential of including NbS in the local policy; 4) identifying the role of NbS in facing 4 main challenges in urban policy: resilience and climate change adaptation, health and well-being, social cohesion, economic development potential. The results show that a significant number of actions focus on GI changes towards its multifunctionality and better quality, while there are not many actions towards supporting citizens in using it. Also, despite urban pressure, new green spaces are still planned to be created. The role of NbS within GI in urban resilience is well recognised. Yet, the adaptation to climate change has gained a low priority so far. Linkages between GI and the wellbeing of inhabitants are well understood. However, the possibility to build and strengthen social cohesion based on GI is rather marginally noticed. The least recognised is the influence of NbS on the economic development potential. It is an area that still needs to be investigated to bring evidence in this field. We conclude that to support large-scale, nature-based solution implementation in cities, the crucial step is to bring them into the local urban agenda. An evaluation of urban policy documents based on the presented approach can serve as a guideline for identifying gaps and potentials for NbS inclusion. As a result, it can help the better organisation of urban policy and harmonisation of different sectors through NbS.

The objective of this review paper is to survey the state-of-the-art on nature-based solutions (NBS) in the built environment, which can contribute to a circular economy (CE) and counter the negative impacts of urbanization through the provision of ecosystem services. NBS are discussed here at three different levels: (i) green building materials, including biocomposites with plant-based aggregates; (ii) green building systems, employed for the greening of buildings by incorporating vegetation in their envelope; and (iii) green building sites, emphasizing the value of vegetated open spaces and water-sensitive urban design. After introducing the central concepts of NBS and CE as they are manifested in the built environment, we examine the impacts of urban development and the historical use of materials, systems and sites which can offer solutions to these problems. In the central section of the paper we present a series of case studies illustrating the development and implementation o...

Developing a general, predictive understanding of ecological systems requires knowing how much structural and functional relationships can cross scales and contexts. Here, we introduce the CROSSLINK project that investigates the role of forested riparian buffers in modified European landscapes by measuring a wide range of ecosystem attributes in stream-riparian networks. CROSSLINK involves replicated field measurements in four case-study basins with varying levels of human development: Norway (Oslo Fjord), Sweden (Lake Mälaren), Belgium (Zwalm River), and Romania (Argeş River). Nested within these case-study basins include multiple, independent stream-site pairs with a forested riparian buffer and unbuffered section located upstream, as well as headwater and downstream sites to show cumulative land-use impacts. CROSSLINK applies existing and bespoke methods to describe habitat conditions, biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning in aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Here, we summarize...

The objective of this review paper is to survey the state-of-the-art on nature-based solutions (NBS) in the built environment, which can contribute to a circular economy (CE) and counter the negative impacts of urbanization through the provision of ecosystem services. NBS are discussed here at three different levels: (i) green building materials, including biocomposites with plant-based aggregates; (ii) green building systems, employed for the greening of buildings by incorporating vegetation in their envelope; and (iii) green building sites, emphasizing the value of vegetated open spaces and water-sensitive urban design. After introducing the central concepts of NBS and CE as they are manifested in the built environment, we examine the impacts of urban development and the historical use of materials, systems and sites which can offer solutions to these problems. In the central section of the paper we present a series of case studies illustrating the development and implementation o...

There is growing interest in the application of nature-based solutions to adapt to climate change and promote resilience, yet barriers exist to their implementation. These include a perceived lack of evidence of their functioning in comparison to conventional solutions and an inability for existing design, policy, and assessment processes to capture the multiple benefits of these solutions. Positing this as a challenge of operationalizing and measuring resilience, we argue that the concept of resilience needs to be given concrete meaning in applied management contexts. Starting with shoreline vulnerability as a policy problem and natural and naturebased shoreline features as a promising solution, we present a case study of a co-creative process to produce an interdisciplinary and locally relevant approach to understanding and capturing the benefits of natural and nature-based solutions. We develop the notion of resilience service to enable a concreteness to resilience that simultaneously takes into account ecological, technical, and social dimensions. Through the co-creative process, our researcher-practitioner network developed a monitoring framework for shoreline features in New York State to facilitate the comparison of natural and nature-based features with conventional shoreline approaches. We describe the process and assess the advantages and drawbacks of integrating scientific input and local knowledge. We present the monitoring framework, showing how the co-creative character of the process is consequential in the formulation of the final framework through the selection of parameters, indicators, and protocols. We argue that interdisciplinarity, co-creation, pragmatism, multi-scalar applicability, and policy relevance are critical principles to understand the functioning and facilitate the implementation of naturebased solutions, while recognizing that this work necessitates compromise and as such will lead to continued deliberation. We posit this is a strength of the process for it acknowledges the creation of resilience as a social process in which values are central and subject to change.

Breaking away from the common perception that identifies the technosphere with the synthetic, this essay reflects on certain enframings of nature as technology in the contemporary climate change discourse. Demands to de-technologize are interrogated, suggesting that our choice to return to nature inevitably turns us back to technology. Interrupting yet complementing this line of thought, some parallel notes on Jules Verne’s 1889 novel Topsy-Turvy point to magical twists of his that challenge our imagination on technical artefacts.

Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) refer to the sustainable management, protection and use of nature to mitigate risks and to preserve ecosystems, demonstrating environmental, social and economic benefits. The goal of the OPERANDUM project is to provide a science-based assessment of the usability and effectiveness of NBS. The assessment is complex considering multiple facets of a certain location and changes of these in time. This encompasses, for instance, the assessment of the specific hydro-meteorological hazards and related risks or the identification of ad-hoc NBS interventions based on geographical, political, socioeconomic and environmental characteristics. Within OPERANDUM project, a web portal called Geospatial Information Knowledge Platform (GeoIKP) is being developed with advanced webGIS functionalities and analytical algorithms to demonstrate the effectiveness of NBS in reducing hydro-meteorological risk under current and future climate scenarios. The goal of GeoIKP is to offer a geospatial platform that empowers the different stakeholders (policymakers, citizens, enterprises, scientists, etc.) involved in the NBS co-design/co-development process to visualize and query geo-referenced data for the specific area of interest. To fulfil these requirements, the first step is to organize these datasets and describe them with a set of metadata. Currently, there is a vast number of existing datasets that could be used in the NBS domain; however, they are poorly described with metadata which limits their discoverability and usage. INSPIRE geoportal has been recognized as a valuable source of harmonized data that could be used. Another practical application of INSPIRE within OPERANDUM project is storing metadata about all geospatial datasets in an INSPIRE compliant form. In this context, the standard INSPIRE schema is extended with additional metadata specific for the NBS domain in order to fulfil specific needs of NBS stakeholders. These metadata will be made available via web services. GeoIKP follows the concept of spatial data infrastructure (SDI) that is designed as service-oriented architecture (SOA). In such infrastructure functionalities such as discovery, evaluation and visualization of geospatial data are realized by web services. Therefore, GeoIKP will provide web services that are built in compliance with, INSPIRE, OGC standards and concepts of semantic web. These services will be used further to build more advanced services and algorithms that will assess the effectiveness of NBS which is the ultimate goal of GeoIKP. Sub-category 3.2 Climate change IJSDIR No, I will not submit an article to IJSDIR

The aim of the article is the mapping and assessment of ES potential in the scale of the city and identifi cation of site-specifi c elements that support or reduce the ES potential at the site scale. For this purpose, a multi-criteria spatial analysis, mapping and fi eld vision were conducted. The results showed urban areas with the lowest ES potential that are also characterized by the highest population density. At the site scale, land cover and land-use types with other anthropogenic elements that affect the ES potential and flow were identifi ed. The results can be used to support the transformation process of the city toward nature-based solutions.

The United Nations have identified climate change as the greatest threat to human life. As current research shows, urban areas are more vulnerable to climate change than rural areas. Numerous people are affected by climate change in their daily life, health and well-being. The need to react is undisputed and has led to numerous guidelines and directives for urban climate adaptation. Plants are commonly mentioned and recommended as one key to urban climate adaptation. Due to shading of open space and building surfaces, as well as evapotranspiration, plants reduce the energy load on the urban fabric and increase thermal comfort and climate resilience amongst many other ecosystem services. Plants, therefore, are described as green infrastructure (GI), because of the beneficial effects they provide. Extensive green roofs are often discussed regarding their impact on thermal comfort for pedestrians and physical properties of buildings. By means of Stadslab2050 project Elief Playhouse in ...

Abstract The “Urban Metabolism” concept has in recent years gained popularity in urban sustainability research and still thrives in disciplinary fields as varied as urban ecology, industrial ecology, political ecology and political-industrial ecology. The popularity of the concept stems from increased recognition of the need for a whole system approach to better understand the challenges resulting from cities' ever-growing demand for natural resources and their environmental impacts. Beyond the concept, the urban metabolism field provides analytical tools and methods to assess the resource-intensity of cities and associated waste and pollutant rejection. Despite recent efforts to unlock key technical aspects of the most popular assessment methods through, for example, a growing number of science-policy collaborative initiatives, urban metabolism research has not yet consistently delivered on its promises. This chapter concentrates on three main challenges identified from analysis of recent literature and retrospective evaluations of previous research: the persistence of conceptual and methodological silos across urban and industrial ecology, the still limited understanding of the interdependence between biophysical and socioeconomic aspects of the metabolism of urban systems and finally, the missing link between urban metabolism analysis and the implementation of real-world design solutions. The discussion of these three challenges offers the opportunity to identify new research frontiers for the field and to outline a tentative research agenda for urban metabolism as a framework for better integration of urban disciplines and for strategic investigation and action on the ecology of the city.

The arrival of the phrase nature-based solutions into the lexicon of academics, planners, managers and policy makers in recent years has sparked a heated debate as to the effectiveness of using nature as a viable solution for mitigating the impacts of anthropogenic environmental change. One of the difficulties of evaluating the potential efficacy and impact of nature-based solutions is that it is believed that there is little evidence by way of a precedent or long-term successful examples. Much literature exists on the subject of designing with nature to provide multi-functional green infrastructure, connectivity in the landscape, and ecosystem service provision. Indeed, in the opinion of many, the nature-based solution approach appears to synergise research into green infrastructure, ecological connectivity and ecosystem service provision for building climate-related resilience. However, when a nature-based solution has been specifically selected over, say, an engineered solution t...

Diminishing prospects for environmental preservation under climate change are intensifying efforts to boost capture, storage and sequestration (long-term burial) of carbon. However, as Earth's biological carbon sinks also shrink, remediation has become a key part of the narrative for terrestrial ecosystems. In contrast, blue carbon on polar continental shelves have stronger pathways to sequestration and have increased with climate-forced marine ice losses-becoming the largest known natural negative feedback on climate change. Here we explore the size and complex dynamics of blue carbon gains with spatiotemporal changes in sea ice (60-100 MtCyear −1), ice shelves (4-40 MtCyear −1 = giant iceberg generation) and glacier retreat (< 1 MtCyear −1). Estimates suggest that, amongst these, reduced duration of seasonal sea ice is most important. Decreasing sea ice extent drives longer (not necessarily larger biomass) smaller cell-sized phytoplankton blooms, increasing growth of many p...

Il verde urbano insieme alla morfologia della città controlla il microclima urbano e la permanenza di alcuni inquinanti in aria. Il progetto Life VEG-GAP (https://www.lifeveggap.eu), ha sviluppato una strategia per produrre nuove informazioni a supporto dei piani per la qualità dell’aria nelle città e dei piani di adattamento ai cambiamenti climatici, considerando le caratteristiche della vegetazione urbana attuale e pianificata per il futuro. Questa strategia può essere usata anche nella pianificazione urbanistica generale per supportare la valutazione degli impatti di interventi di ampliamento o rigenerazione della città a impatto zero sul clima e ambiente. La piattaforma informatica sviluppata nel progetto mostra l’impatto del verde urbano sulle temperature e alcuni inquinanti: ozono troposferico (O3), biossido di azoto (NO2) e polveri sottili (PM10), in tre Città Europee: Bologna, Madrid e Milano.

Summary
The urban greenery together with the city morphology control the urban micro-climate and the permanence of some pollutants in the air. The Life VEG-GAP project (https://www.lifeveggap.eu), developed a strategy to produce new information in support of air-quality plans, climate resilience plans, considering the characteristics of current and future urban vegetation. It could be used also in general urban planning to assess zero-impact on climate and environment for city expansion or regeneration interventions. The Life VEG-GAP project’s ITC platform shows the impact of urban greenery on temperatures and some pollutants: ground-level ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine particles (PM10), in three European cities: Bologna, Madrid and Milan.

This chapter presents a brief overview of the policy design and theoretical environmental economic principles that underpin the concept of emissions trading systems (ETS) as a policy approach to address climate change. It discusses basic environmental economic principles pertinent to the development of market-based solutions to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) and co-pollutants. The chapter serves as the technical basis for the broader discussion that this book as a whole presents on the launch of the pilot phase of the Mexican ETS on January 1, 2020. Understanding international program design experiences, theoretical principles, and implementing best practices is key to ensuring Mexico’s success in the transition from the pilot or learning phase to an operational ETS compliance system. This will ensure Mexico fulfills its national climate policy goals and nationally determined contributions (NDC) under the Paris Agreement in a cost-effective manner, while also providing compliance fle...

Cities are living systems. A holistic vision for urban
sustainability looks at the city as an integration of energy,
environment, mobility, urban design, new technologies, and most
importantly “people and nature”. In this article, the aim is to shed the
light on the role of Nature-based solutions (NBS) towards addressing
climate change crisis and tackling a variety of socio-ecological
challenges. Firstly, and most importantly, we review the role of NBS
in shaping urban planning policies as a result of expansion and
densification of cities. Secondly, we reflect on the co-benefits
generated by NBS within the social and cultural regeneration of
cities. Lastly, in this article we give examples from Nice, Boston, and
Milan in order to showcase those cities spatial strategies to
implement NBS through different scales. As a result, we reflect upon
the residual impact on cities territorial planning which remains
mainly environmental and less explored culturally and socially.

The arrival of the phrase nature-based solutions into the lexicon of academics, planners, managers and policy makers in recent years has sparked a heated debate as to the effectiveness of using nature as a viable solution for mitigating the impacts of anthropogenic environmental change. One of the difficulties of evaluating the potential efficacy and impact of nature-based solutions is that it is believed that there is little evidence by way of a precedent or long-term successful examples. Much literature exists on the subject of designing with nature to provide multi-functional green infrastructure, connectivity in the landscape, and ecosystem service provision. Indeed, in the opinion of many, the nature-based solution approach appears to synergise research into green infrastructure, ecological connectivity and ecosystem service provision for building climate-related resilience. However, when a nature-based solution has been specifically selected over, say, an engineered solution t...

Urban environments consist of a mosaic of natural fragments, planned and unintentional habitats hosting both introduced and spontaneous species. The latter group exploits abandoned and degraded urban niches which, in the case of plants, form what is called the third landscape. In the Anthropocene, cities, open spaces and buildings must be planned and designed considering not only human needs but also those of other living organisms. The scientific approach of habitat sharing is defined as reconciliation ecology, whilst the action of implementing the ecosystem services and functioning of such anthropogenic habitats is called Urban Rehabilitation. However, urban development still represents the main cause of biodiversity loss worldwide. Yet, the approach of planners and landscape architects highly diverges from that of ecologists and scientists on how to perceive, define and design urban green and blue infrastructure. For instance, designers focus on the positive impact that nature (g...

Developing a general, predictive understanding of ecological systems requires knowing how much structural and functional relationships can cross scales and contexts. Here, we introduce the CROSSLINK project that investigates the role of forested riparian buffers in modified European landscapes by measuring a wide range of ecosystem attributes in stream-riparian networks. CROSSLINK involves replicated field measurements in four case-study basins with varying levels of human development: Norway (Oslo Fjord), Sweden (Lake Mälaren), Belgium (Zwalm River), and Romania (Argeş River). Nested within these case-study basins include multiple, independent stream-site pairs with a forested riparian buffer and unbuffered section located upstream, as well as headwater and downstream sites to show cumulative land-use impacts. CROSSLINK applies existing and bespoke methods to describe habitat conditions, biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning in aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Here, we summarize...

The linear pattern of production-consumption-disposal of cities around the world will continue to increase the emission of pollutants and stocks of waste, as well as to impact on the irreversible deterioration of non-renewable stocks of raw materials. A transition towards a circular pattern proposed by the concept of ‘Circular Cities’ is gaining momentum. As part of this urban transition, the emergent use of Nature-based Solutions (NBS) intends to shift public opinion and utilize technology to mitigate the urban environmental impact. In this paper, an analysis of the current research and practical investments for implementing NBS under the umbrella of Circular Cities is conducted. A combined appraisal of the latest literature and a survey of on-going and completed National-European research and development projects provides an overview of the current enabling tools, methodologies, and initiatives for public engagement. It also identifies and describes the links between facilitators ...

Developing a general, predictive understanding of ecological systems requires knowing how much structural and functional relationships can cross scales and contexts. Here, we introduce the CROSSLINK project that investigates the role of forested riparian buffers in modified European landscapes by measuring a wide range of ecosystem attributes in stream-riparian networks. CROSSLINK involves replicated field measurements in four case-study basins with varying levels of human development: Norway (Oslo Fjord), Sweden (Lake Mälaren), Belgium (Zwalm River), and Romania (Argeş River). Nested within these case-study basins include multiple, independent stream-site pairs with a forested riparian buffer and unbuffered section located upstream, as well as headwater and downstream sites to show cumulative land-use impacts. CROSSLINK applies existing and bespoke methods to describe habitat conditions, biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning in aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Here, we summarize...

Una pubblicazione, a metà tra uno studio ambientale del territorio ed un libro d'artista.
Arte, scienza e paesaggio. Una riflessione tra i servizi ecosistemici, le Nature Based Solutions e l'arte pubblica e partecipativa per la periferia di Bari. Una mappa immaginifica ed un percorso da fare sul territorio.
Il caso studio di Carbonara di Bari e Ceglie del Campo per il progetto Sentieri Quotidiani, realizzato per il bando Creative Living Lab del MIBACT. 2018

'Nature-Based Integration' (NBI) has been proposed as a solution to two prominent issues in contemporary Nordic societies: increasing separation from nature among 'modern' societies; and the need to 'integrate' groups of diverse newcomers. This article examines NBI activities in € Orebro County, central Sweden, exploring how these practices seek to bring immigrants into a shared Swedish experiential landscape that forms part of the work of ordering Sweden as a community. These activities form part of an ordering project, within which 'Swedes' and 'new-comers' are situated, drawing on extant nationalist orderings. Likewise, it represents part of an effort to enact a sustainable Sweden in an international world. Drawing on research on environmental racism and (in)justice, this article homes in on the norms implicit and explicit to this ordering. It then discusses the implications of this, highlighting (arguably unavoidable) coercive elements. Furthermore, the long history of outdoor lifestyle as a pillar of Swedish nationalism and the embracing of such activities by the Swedish far right highlight that nature may also become a site of conflict as much as conciliation. Finally, the article considers the types of environmental action arising from the NBI orderings and the likelihood of meaningful environmental change.

As part of H2020 OPERANDUM project, a multi-dimensional, open and user-friendly platform is being developed, named OPERANDUM Geospatial Information Knowledge Platform (GeoIKP), which enables stakeholders and end-users to improve their knowledge of nature-based solutions (NBS) as a long-term and sustainable measure for mitigation and reduction of flooding, coastal erosion, landslide and other hydro-meteorological hazards. This contribution offers an overview of GeoIKP and discusses in detail some of the innovative aspects of the platform, such as a the integration of a NBS data management portal with a web application offering advanced webGIS tools, a comprehensive catalogue of NBS, as well as analytical algorithms to demonstrate the effectiveness of NBS in reducing hydro-meteorological risks. The platform design is being based on intuitive techniques, ease of access, dynamic navigability, interactive knowledge management, and multiple format compatibility. It empowers the multiple and diverse actors involved in the NBS co-design/co-development process (policymakers, citizens, enterprises, scientists, etc.) to visualize and query geo-referenced data for the specific area of interest. In its first-yet preliminary-release, GeoIKP already offers a variety of functionalities and geo-referenced data of relevance for NBS, while at the same time it provides more standardized ways for NBS data (and metadata) management and cataloging. We conclude by reflecting on some of the current challenges associated with NBS data, such as adequacy and discoverability. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Mentioned in an article in Azzure Magazine by Tim Waterman

Across the globe, the number of major projects melding built forms with natural elements is growing every year. Besides the ecological benefits, landscape architect Tim Waterman writes, the trend’s most exciting aspect is the degree to which architects and landscape architects must co-operate. His advice for colleagues: Get set to break out of your silos.