NATURVATION: Reconciling urbanisation with nature
As COVID-19 hit our societies in full force, we began to look at the city we live in from behind closed doors or through the spectrum of brief walks around the nearest park. Air pollution has dramatically decreased across Europe. Nature got to catch its breath for a while. We received an opportunity to witness its wake under a different light and, last but not least, we received a reminder of the challenges ahead for densely populated cities. The loss of biodiversity is one such challenge, along with others such as climate change, water quality and healthcare. Nature-based solutions (NBSs) are one way to face it, but in truth, their potential has been largely overlooked so far. “Our Urban Nature Atlas records 1 000 examples of NBSs in just 100 cities – but often these initiatives are small scale. They are not seen as effective ‘mainstream’ solutions to urban sustainability challenges and are being undertaken largely in an experimental mode, as diverse public, private and community actors try them out to tackle local issues,” explains Harriet Bulkeley, Professor of Geography at Durham University. Whilst there is little doubt that a greener, biodiversity-friendly urban environment could only benefit us all, there is surprisingly little evidence of NBSs’ effectiveness. And even for the diverse actors who see tangible advantages, the question of who should pay the bill has proven to be quite complex. The NATURVATION project, coordinated by Bulkeley, has been working on a solution to support decision-making and optimise its benefits. “We now have a prototype of our Nature-Based Solutions Navigator which we hope to release later in 2020. It will support decision-makers in identifying which kinds of NBS contribute towards which sustainable development goals,” she says. Unlike existing evaluation tools focusing on one solution or one sustainability challenge, NATURVATION brings the best available evidence together to create a multi-criteria evaluation framework. The latter can be used in different processes of consultation and deliberation with communities and stakeholders, to help them in their choices. To tackle investment-related issues, the project has also been developing new business models and financing mechanisms through which NBSs can be supported. As Bulkeley explains: “We focus on how different business models or financing options can be ‘stacked’ to generate a sufficiently robust case. It’s about bringing together business models that can reduce risks, improve health and generate climate benefits while allowing for non-financial returns on investment such as improved biodiversity.”
Biodiversity should be more than a side effect
One of the project’s most important findings with regards to biodiversity lies in its lack of consideration in existing projects. Although a significant number of NBS initiatives specifically address it, the project team demonstrates the emergence of what they call ‘opportunity gaps’, with NBSs not being designed to realise their full potential. Although the project has successfully identified best practices that can inspire future decision-making, one of the main lessons learned from its research relates to the number of such missed opportunities. By the time it ends in October 2020, NATURVATION will have provided new pathways to successful NBS implementation as well as unique assessment tools. The project team is already working with CitiesWithNature – an initiative created by ICLEI – to develop a platform where cities can report their action towards global goals for biodiversity. They are also collaborating with organisations at national and international level to develop the policy and financial conditions within which NBSs can flourish. This will certainly prove to be a comforting perspective for citizens wary of the sustainable future of their city. All EU-funded projects on nature-based solutions, including Naturvation, are developing common products together. These, as all project results, will be accessible on the EU repository for nature-based solutions, oppla.eu.
Keywords
NATURVATION, biodiversity, nature-based solutions, urban environment
