Nature-based solutions: typologies, ecological processes and benefit valuation approaches across landscapes

Abstract

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) can generate multiple benefits to society through the protection, restoration and renaturing of ecosystems across landscapes. NbS restore the ecological functions of degraded ecosystems and generate ecosystem services that can help counter challenges of biodiversity loss, climate change adaptation and mitigation, regulation of environmental pollution, health and well-being while offering an opportunity for job creation and a systemic change towards a nature-positive economy. Building on the description of NbS typologies across different landscapes, as well as the associated ecological processes that underpin NbS actions, we identify the societal challenges that NbS help to alleviate and the resulting societal benefits. This foundation allows the paper to explore diverse economic assessment methods for valuing ecosystem services, placing these methods within the context of landscapes, while also linking them to the benefits derived from NbS. By examining the connections between NbS across landscapes, societal challenges, ecological processes and NbS benefits, we are able to reposition traditional ecosystem valuation methods within a new and emerging context, emphasizing the need for enhanced interdisciplinary collaboration. Our analysis of NbS benefits and valuation methods builds targeted peer-reviewed literature, EU publications and reports, and iterative interactions with organizations partaking in NbS projects. The paper provides valuable insights crucial for well-informed resource allocation and financing decisions of policymakers. While primarily serving as a guiding framework, it also offers information to a wider audience, including practitioners seeking a deeper understanding of NbS typologies, NbS-related benefits, and their economic implications.