Beyond individual barriers: a systems approach to understanding and addressing nature-based solutions implementation challenges

This study advances our understanding of barriers to Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) implementation by applying Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (FCM) to analyze how implementation challenges influence each other within complex systems across six European river basins. Moving beyond traditional approaches that treat barriers as isolated challenges, we identify three distinct barrier system typologies—institutional-legal-political dominant systems (Type I), knowledge-awareness deficit systems (Type II), and tightly coupled networks (Type III). Our analysis reveals four key feedback mechanisms—Knowledge and Awareness, Political Will and Resources, Implementation Challenges, and Institutional Fragmentation—that create self-reinforcing cycles affecting NBS adoption. By quantifying both barrier centrality and the strength of their relationships, we identify strategic intervention points that could effectively catalyze system-wide improvements. Financial resources and political will emerge as universally important barriers, while knowledge-related barriers demonstrate context-specific importance. The study contributes methodologically by demonstrating how systems thinking can reveal previously hidden barrier interactions, and practically by identifying targeted intervention strategies for different barrier system types, offering valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners working to accelerate NBS implementation.