“We found that nature-based solutions are as much “nature-based” as “human-based”, and that successful examples have in common diverse human values about nature and types of knowledge, community participation processes, and management practices such as restoration, ecosystem monitoring and nature protection” says researcher Ignacio Palomo. Evidence of transformative change has been fund through substantial changes of non-sustainable trajectories of social-ecological systems and strong re-structuration of social and ecological elements, such as ecosystems or stakeholder networks. The framework provided by this study, the authors argue, will serve for the long term monitoring of NbS, one of the most promising socio-environmental solutions, and the evaluation of transformative change processes in practice.

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Palomo., I., Locatelli, B., Otero, I., Colloff, M., Crouzat, E., Cuni-Sánchez, A., Gómez-Baggethun, E., González-García, A., Grêt-Regamey, A., Jimenez-Aceituno, A., Martín-López, B., Pascual, U., Zafra-Calvo, N., Bruley, E., Fischborn, M., Metz, R., & Lavorel, S. (2021). Assessing Nature-based solutions for transformative change. One Earth. DOI: 10.1016/j.oneear.2021.04.013

Abstract:

Global sustainability targets demand transformative changes. Nature-based solutions (NbS) are gaining traction in science and policy, but their potential for transformative change remains unexplored. We provide a framework to evaluate how NbS contribute to transformative change and apply it to 93 NbS from mountain social-ecological systems (SES). The framework serves to assess what elements may catalyze transformative change, how transformative change occurs, and what its outcomes are. Our results show that NbS are as much “people based” as “nature based.” Most NbS are based on four elements with transformation potential: nature’s values, knowledge types, community engagement, and nature management practices. Our results confirm the potential of NbS for transformative change, observed through changes in non-sustainable trajectories of SES. We illustrate the components of our framework through a novel classification of NbS. The framework provides key components for assessing the effectiveness of NbS and allows tracking long-term transformative change processes.