Fostering sustainable and resilient coastal communities through combining Nature-based Solutions and empowerment tools: A review

Abstract

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have proven successful to address major coastal environmental challenges. Participatory approaches to NbS planning, design and implementation are increasing, yet community empowerment remains an underexplored aspect of NbS. This paper aims to assess the current state of knowledge on the contribution of community empowerment in NbS approaches to address coastal challenges and to build more resilient communities. Building upon an Eklipse¹ evidence need from the Horizon Europe project EmpowerUs, this study reviews 218 publications on NbS and empowerment in relation to coastal communities across Europe, including its Outermost Regions and Overseas Countries and Territories, as well as OECD countries. By applying a Rapid Evidence Assessment methodology, this paper identifies prerequisite conditions for participation levels in NbS projects, categorises empowerment, and identifies challenges and opportunities for integrating these strategies into policy and practice. Results show that 60 % of reviewed studies combine NbS and Empowerment Tools, while 9 % focus on empowerment only. The remaining 31 % were devoted to the operationality of NbS planning, development and assessment, without describing empowerment aspects. Most records addressed low levels of participation, ranging from informing stakeholders to involving them through collecting their preferences. Only few studies provide evidence of long-term community empowerment through e.g., shared ownership. Standardized approaches to assess empowerment processes and outcomes were often lacking in the literature. Combining, NbS and Empowerment Tools can foster to strengthening the social-ecological resilience of coastal areas. Based on their focus and participation level, six distinct categories of Empowerment Tools for NbS planning and coastal resilience were identified: Education and awareness-raising tools, Knowledge tools, Platform/Dialogue tools, Governance tools, Co-creation tools and Community-led NbS.

Challenges linked to Empowerment Tools persist related to the absence of clear definitions, the lack of standardized approaches for measuring empowerment, and the need for interpretation in categorising tools. Future research should focus on the longitudinal trajectory of community empowerment, including participation and co-creation as a precondition for NbS projects, in order to balance social and governance objectives. The findings provide a pathway for fostering sustainable and resilient coastal development through NbS and Empowerment Tools.