8. Introductions to the handbook categories

In the online handbook, the advice is tagged and sorted into different categories. This chapter includes all the introduction texts for the main categories used in the handbook: societal challenges, types of policy instruments and governance levels. For more information on how the categories were defined, see also chapter 12 on methodology.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) can contribute to solving a range of different challenges in society. Existing policies supporting solutions to challenges such as climate change or food security, can in many cases also support the use of NBS. One of the criteria for assessing NBS according to the global standard of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), is that the “NBS intervention must address clearly specified challenges that have significant and demonstrable impacts on society” (IUCN, 2020a).

The eight societal challenges listed here are broad categories that group several different types of challenges. The categories are based on the IUCN framework on NBS (IUCN, 2020a) and categories used in previous work as part of the Nordic programme on NBS. Read more about this and the methodology behind the handbook in chapter 12.

Nature-based solutions are by definition multifunctional, meaning that they should be designed to address several challenges at the same time. This means that many of the policy advice provided in the handbook will be included in several different categories. Many nature-based solutions can and should provide co-benefits in addition to solutions to the main challenges they are addressing. The advice in this section is categorised according to the main challenge(s) the NBS is addressing.

Visit the online handbook: www.nbspolicy.org/societal-challenges

Diversity in ecosystems, species and populations is essential to maintain and support life on Earth. Currently, state of nature is declining at accelerating rates, and this is often referred to as ‘the nature crisis’ or ‘biodiversity loss crisis’. The main drivers of biodiversity loss are climate change and human activities such as land-use change, invasive species, pollution and exploitation of natural resources (UNEP, 2023).

Protecting and supporting biodiversity is a fundamental feature of the nature-based solutions concept. Nature restoration and protection are activities that in themselves can be defined as nature-based solutions. Nature’s own ecosystem functions are usually very good at handling environmental extremes such as floods and droughts. Natural wetlands and floodplains may for example decrease the flooding extents downstream. Natural ecosystems and native species can also be more resilient to changes and pressures than degraded ecosystems.

Urban nature-based solutions such as rain gardens and stream daylighting mimic natural ecosystem functions and may therefore also contribute to climate change adaptation and biodiversity enhancement. Often, policies and legislation related to nature protection and biodiversity can also contribute to the increased use of nature-based solutions, even if they are not mentioned specifically (IPBES, 2019). Policies related to NBS are essentially also policies for nature and the environment. This means that principles such as the mitigation hierarchy (prioritising avoiding and minimising impact), adaptive management and precaution are fundamental (Kurrer & Petit, 2024).

Climate change constitutes one of the biggest societal challenges which need to be addressed both through mitigation and adaptation. This is also highlighted in the UN Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate Action. Increased greenhouse gas emissions due to human activities are causing rapid and long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Protecting and restoring important ecosystems such as forests, peatlands, wetlands and kelp forests, contribute to much needed carbon storage, while sustainable use and management of forests and agricultural lands can reduce nitrogen dioxide emissions (Sandin et al., 2022; UNEP, 2021). Thus, each nations’ ambitions to reach the targets in the Paris agreement can also be addressed through nature-based solutions.

Even if the Paris agreement targets are met, shifts in temperatures and weather patterns are still to be expected. Consequently, there is a need for society to adapt to climate change effects like more extreme rainfall events causing stormwater and flooding issues, landslides and erosion, higher temperatures causing heat islands, drought, shifting winter conditions, more frequent and larger forest fires, as well as sea level rise, storm surges and wave impacts causing flooding in many cities and towns. Moreover, nature itself and the biodiversity will also be impacted by the rising temperatures and extreme weather causing among other drought and more wildfires, and NBS include strengthening both society and nature’s resilience to climate change.  Some examples of relevant nature-based solutions are street trees to mitigate heat island effects, protecting and restoring streams and wetlands to manage stormwater and address flooding. The Paris agreement includes commitments to adaptation planning and action, and NBS are emphasised as important adaptation measures by the international community, including the UN and EU (Climate-ADAPT, n.d.).

The natural conditions and the effects of climate change vary between the Nordic countries, thus also their focus in addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation. However, there are also similarities both in terms of nature, climate change impacts and governance. The following advice relates to addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation through policies, which includes some good examples of how the Nordic countries address this societal challenge.

Natural hazards such as extreme weather events, landslides and wildfires can cause the loss of lives, livelihoods and substantial material damages. Disaster risk is defined by the type of hazard, the exposure of people, infrastructure or other elements to the hazard and vulnerability – factors that can increase the impact of the hazard, such as physical, social and economic conditions (IFRC, n.d.).

The Nordic countries are well-prepared for many natural risks, and have good systems for planning, capacity building, training and warning systems with ongoing developments.

See for example the Nordiclink project https://www.nordiclink.no/

Public information and coordination are also an important part of this preparedness. However, with climate change some natural hazards are projected to increase in frequency, and vulnerability and exposure to such hazards may increase due to loss of nature and ecosystem functions. For example, the loss of natural floodplains and wetlands that can contribute to water retention during storms and heavy rain, may cause larger flood damages to infrastructure, livelihoods and potential risks to human health further downstream. Nature-based solutions should therefore be a natural part of disaster risk and preparedness strategies (IUCN, 2017).

In addition to nature protection, sustainable management of culture landscapes, such as grazing and prescribed burning may also reduce the risk of large, uncontrollable wildfires. There are also many examples of NBS working together with more traditional, grey solutions for example in coastal areas where storm flood surges threaten communities close to the shore. Highlighting the role of nature-based solutions in disaster risk and preparedness efforts may increase awareness of how human communities and their health and wellbeing rely on intact and resilient ecosystems (Monty et al., 2016).

Water management encompasses several major topics including water quality and pollution, water quantity and flooding, water scarcity and droughts. Water is one of the key components for sustaining life, securing agricultural production and industrial activity, and ensuring health and wellbeing. Climate change brings more uncertainty to occurrence of extreme conditions such as flooding (excess of water) and periods of droughts (lack of water) which can impact water availability and security, and human activities can further contribute to pollution of watercourses and overextraction of water reserves.

Water distribution and access to water can become a political issue as the key recourse, especially in times of conflict. Ensuring environmental flows (water necessary for functioning of healthy ecosystems) brings additional layer of uncertainty.  Water governance has been a widely discussed topic globally. It encompasses political, social, economic and administrative systems that influence who, when and how uses the water and who has the right to water and related benefits (SIWI, n.d.). Good governance of water ensures the risks related to water scarcity, pollution and flooding are addressed (OECD, n.d.).

There are two UN SDGs goals explicitly related to water: SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation addressing availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation, and SDG 14: Life below water targeting the sustainable use the oceans, seas and marine resources. SDG 13: Climate action among its targets aims at building resilience and adaptive capacity to climate related disasters and can be directly attributed to water related extreme events. However, being an overarching theme, water is key to meeting many other goals and targets such as those related to health and wellbeing, justice, sustainable cities and communities, and food security.

NBS can contribute to all aspects of water management at different scales including addressing water quality and pollution, flooding, groundwater recharge. In the urban environment, NBS can simultaneously deliver benefits associated with water management (both quality and quantity), biodiversity, health and wellbeing. Larger scale NBS such as riparian vegetation and wetlands aid in reducing the extent of floods and contribute to biodiversity as well as carbon sequestration. NBS for water management are one of the most well-studied interventions and there are documented impacts and developed best practices for their implementation (Vojinovic, 2020; Wild, 2020). NBS are recognised as key solutions for ensuring holistic water management by the UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme 2022-2029 (UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme, 2022).

Supporting a sustainable economic development is an important task for public authorities to ensure quality of life for the population. The population’s wellbeing depends on the job security and sufficient incomes, access to education and healthcare, and living standards and environmental conditions. NBS can support economic development in several ways.

NBS to support economic and social development is understudied (Dunlop et al., 2024), however, a variety of NBS interventions have been found to impact income, revenue and job creation with positive, mixed and sometimes negative results (Chausson et al., 2024).

Society and economic sectors heavily rely on nature for its functions and resources (World Economic Forum, 2020, 2024). Therefore, protecting and restoring nature is important to ensure good living conditions in the first place. This also relates to efforts to adapt society to climate change or manage disaster risk. Furthermore, investing in NBS can contribute to job creation related to planning, delivery and stewardship of the solutions. Finally, taking a nature-based approach to improving the urban environment, can also make neighbourhoods more attractive for people and businesses.

While working with NBS itself can support sustainable economic development, the choice of policy instruments can also have an impact. Some policy instruments have lower administration and transaction costs than others, while some have larger distributional effects than others.

Increased vulnerability of food production is one of the major consequences of climate change on human societies and activities. Changing weather conditions, including less reliable seasons, increasing droughts and heavy rainfall, are some of the threats to stable and secure food production. These conditions may cause issues such as the spread of pests and soil erosion. Food production also relies on healthy ecosystems that provide habitats for pollinating insects and resources that can be harvested such as fish and plants. At the same time, food production is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient pollution of water bodies, and the use of pest control and monocultures can threaten local biodiversity.

To ensure the sustainable provision of food, a holistic approach is needed (Cohen-Shacham et al., 2016). This is also highlighted in the UN Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero hunger. Nature-based solutions for food security can for example be to protect wild relatives to plants and animals for genetic diversity, sustainably manage fish stocks and practice restorative aquaculture (IUCN, 2022b). Other initiatives such as in community gardening can also contribute to biodiversity and food provisioning as well as educating people. Many NBS are also related to agricultural practices, such as using cover crops and vegetation zones that keep more nutrients in the ground, reduce erosion and increase biodiversity. Other measures can ensure better access to water for irrigation or are related to land-use changes.

In the Nordic countries, the policies on agriculture and food production can vary quite much, as some are members of the EU and part of its common agricultural policy (CAP) while others are not. However, all the countries are applying NBS related to food security, and there are many good examples where we can learn from each other.

Human health and wellbeing are one of the key focus issues when it comes to evaluating the impacts of climate change. Extreme weather events with catastrophic consequences to infrastructure and settlements as well as growing susceptibility and vulnerability to climate change results in increased losses of lives as well as direct consequences for the human health such as increased morbidity and mortality (Romanello et al., 2021; WHO, 2023). There are also direct links between biodiversity and human health. Biodiversity supports functioning of ecosystems and delivery of ecosystem services humans depend on, including food, water and air, and is similarly impacted by climate change as well as human activity (Romanelli et al., 2015).

NBS as multifunctional solutions aim at restoring the functioning of ecosystems and (re)establishment of biodiversity as well as reducing the impact of human health and wellbeing. NBS and urban greening have been associated with, among many, mental restoration, lowering anxiety and stress, especially in children and elderly (EEA, 2023), enhanced physical activity as well as reduced exposure to air pollutants (WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2016). However, distribution of health and wellbeing benefits of NBS was found to be strongly associated with the aspects of justice and inequality.

Vulnerable populations including children, elderly, lower-income neighbourhoods, immigrants, and other marginalised groups are at highest risk of being affected by climate change due to distribution of NBS and adaptation measures (De Vries et al., 2020; Viinikka et al., 2018). Carefully designed urban green spaces can promote social health and as well as offer refuge during extreme weather events or other events such as the pandemic (Huang et al., 2023; Jakstis et al., 2022).  In the Nordics, it was emphasised that integrating NBS in municipal planning and management should start with the policy level that has the potential to align the ongoing activities and tie them together. Aligning departments is another critical step towards designing and managing green spaces (Borges et al., 2024).

Social justice is a key element to nature-based solutions, and criterion 5 in IUCN’s global standard for NBS addresses the need for inclusion, transparency and empowering governance processes. NBS can contribute to addressing social inequity by for example supporting resilience against natural hazards and effects of climate change, which often affect vulnerable groups and communities disproportionately (UNDP, 2023). It may also ensure more equal access to natural resources, such as clean water and recreation areas.

On the other hand, some interventions such as protection of forest areas may put a larger economic burden on local communities that are economically dependent on the forest. It is therefore very important to include a social justice perspective when planning for NBS to ensure that both the benefits and costs are distributed fairly (EEA, 2024). Good processes for stakeholder engagement and inclusion of various groups can contribute to this (Boyland et al., 2022).

Including local communities and other stakeholder groups in the planning and implementation of NBS can also contribute to a feeling of empowerment. It may contribute to knowledge and capacity needed to participate in development of their local community and benefit from the NBS. A sense of ownership over the NBS and emphasising a positive relation to nature may also enhance the long-term effects and management of the NBS. The support to local capacity building, communication and collaboration is therefore a central part of ensuring the success of the NBS (Cohen-Shacham et al., 2016).

For policies to be effective and achieve their aims, there are different types of instruments or interventions that can be put to use. Often, these instruments either provide an incentive to carry out activities or may also penalize certain actions. Providing information or structures for organizing actions may also motivate or affect different actors.

In the handbook, we have divided policy instruments into four key types 1) laws and regulations, 2) economic instruments, 3) administrative practices and strategies, and 4) Information, guidance and other voluntary measures. These categories are further described below.

Laws and regulations are the primary policy instruments that establish the legal frameworks governing markets, behaviours, and activities. These are often enacted through decisions made by policymakers at the national or international level, shaping societal development and the implementation of political goals. For EU member states, laws passed by the European Union take precedence over national laws and must be adhered to, even if they conflict with national legislation.

These policy instruments play a significant role in promoting and regulating nature-based solutions, which are essential for addressing societal challenges such as climate change, water management, and biodiversity. This can include laws that protect and preserve ecosystems, green spaces, and water systems. Laws and regulations can also mandate the integration of NBS into infrastructure and urban development projects, which could lead to replacing traditional solutions with blue-green infrastructure. For instance, wetlands can be considered a solution to flooding issues, rather than relying solely on technical barriers or similar structures.

Laws and regulations can be highly impactful because they are binding and must be followed as they are ensuring legal certainty and governance. Additionally, laws and regulations are applied to protect societal interests, as well as the environment. However, sometimes they can be challenging to implement due to various reasons such as available resources or political direction. Effective policies must be aligned horizontally (across the departments) and vertically (across the political levels) to ensure synergies and complementary goals (Borges et al., 2024).

A wide range of economic instruments can be adopted to support implementation and management of NBS. Some instruments are set out to fund NBS directly, like public grants, subsidies, payments for ecosystem services, and agglomeration bonus. Other instruments aim to discourage undesirable actions, like taxes and fees which can also serve as revenue streams for funding NBS. Some of these instruments rely on the markets to incentivise investments in NBS (e.g., fees, subsidies, auctions, payments for ecosystem services). There are also debt-based instruments which may provide incentives for investing in NBS through reduced insurance premiums or loans with reduced interest rates.

Administrative practices aim to structure and streamline the governance and implementation of nature-based solutions (NBS) at local, regional, and national levels. Often, NBS requires new types of collaboration and (re)establishment of practices that can take time to change. NBS implementation can be supported by establishing clear administrative processes and enhancing coordination between different stakeholders, including authorities, private sector, and civil society. For example, land use and infrastructure planning can include NBS as part of routines for processing applications or the initial phase of new projects. Establishing new arenas for coordination and collaboration across different departments and fields can also be part of this.

There are also softer policy instruments that can guide stakeholders in successfully implementing nature-based solutions in the best possible way, through measures such as educational materials, information and guidelines. By providing accessible information and guidelines, both professional actors and citizens can better understand the economic, ecological, and social benefits of NBS, as well as how to integrate these solutions into their operations or daily lives. Creating awareness and engagement can lead to long-term changes in behaviors and attitudes toward sustainable development.

Voluntary measures can promote broader engagement with NBS, without the need for legislative measures. These instruments can include educational campaigns, voluntary certification systems, and other incentives that motivate stakeholders to take actions that support, among other things, more resilient communities and biodiversity.

It is important to acknowledge that policies on all administrative levels can contribute to supporting nature-based solutions in the long term.

NBS are often implemented locally, requiring certain priorities and tools for support in the local administrations, usually municipalities. The regional level, for example counties or river basin districts, have important roles in coordinating and supporting local implementation. This level can also be a link between national and local authorities. Finally, national authorities such as the government and different ministries, agencies and directorates can adopt strategies and legislation that affects all the administrative levels.

For advice concerning policies for NBS internationally, read more about this in chapter 5 (link online). In addition, each specific advice includes information on key international goals and obligations that they may contribute to.

Visit the online handbook: www.nbspolicy.org/governance-levels/

Policy instruments at national level can take several forms, such as legislative, regulatory and strategic, economic or fiscal. On a national level, the government can use hard and soft policy instruments to incentivise NBS. Development of strategies that incorporate NBS and related solutions also enable to promote wider uptake of NBS. Moreover, national agencies can build knowledge and provide guidance on NBS via larger scale ministerial resources or national climate adaptation guidance, promoting information spreading and streamlining across the country.

The involvement of regional level administration in climate and nature policy varies between the Nordic countries based also on the power given to different governance levels. The regional level can be especially useful in promoting cooperation on a larger geographical scale, by coordinating municipalities and providing insights. This is important since NBS often have impact on landscape scale and larger efforts are needed to safeguard some ecosystems. Regional administrations have also been known to acquire EU grants for NBS projects, secure funding for implementation, or in other cases to administer funds for local projects.

Responsibilities and power assigned to the local level may vary between the Nordic countries. However, NBS are often implemented and managed locally at smaller scales, requiring certain priorities and tools for support in the local administrations, usually municipalities. There is large variation between the size of municipalities and their resources. There is also large geographical variation and differences in societal challenges from inland municipalities, coastal areas, islands and larger cities. While some municipalities have more resources in terms of financing, skills and competence in different fields of expertise, others may have less resources on topics related to the environment. Municipalities can also acquire the EU and other sources of funding for NBS work, and with many Nordic cities and regions being the EU Mission Adaptation Charter signatories, the adaptation efforts are targeted to increase.