Promises and pitfalls of nature-based solutions

The document argues that while nature-based solutions (NbS) are increasingly integrated into global climate and biodiversity policies, there is a critical lack of research and reflection on their social and economic sustainability. It highlights risks such as 'green gentrification,' where market-driven NbS prioritize high-income groups and displace vulnerable populations. The authors note a significant geographic imbalance in NbS research, which is dominated by high-income countries despite the high vulnerability of Small Island Developing States and lower-income countries. Financially, NbS receive a small fraction of total climate finance, with challenges including the difficulty of comparing NbS costs to 'grey' infrastructure and a lack of private sector incentives for adaptation. Finally, the document addresses the complexities of 'scaling-up' NbS, noting that misinterpreting spatial, temporal, and institutional scales can lead to suboptimal outcomes for human-environmental systems.

• There is a significant geographic imbalance in nature-based solutions (NbS) research, with most studies originating from high-income countries. This occurs despite the fact that lower-income countries and Small Island Developing States are more vulnerable to climate change and place greater emphasis on NbS in their Nationally Determined Contributions.
• The implementation of NbS often lacks critical scrutiny regarding social equity and justice, risking the creation of 'winners and losers' and the reinforcement of existing injustices. A 'technocentric' approach and a dominating 'greenmentality' in urban nature discourse may ignore power-knowledge relationships and the needs of marginalized communities.
• Market-driven governance of NbS can lead to 'green gentrification,' where investments in urban greening increase housing rents and displace vulnerable populations. Private sector investments tend to favor central or affluent areas over the more vulnerable areas that most need safe green spaces.
• NbS receive a very small proportion of global climate finance. In 2018, between 0.6% and 1.4% of total climate finance flows were allocated to NbS, and less than 1% of finance from major funds like the Green Climate Fund and Global Environmental Facility goes toward coastal protection, infrastructure, and disaster risk management.
• Attracting private sector finance for NbS is hindered by the small scale of projects, short-term investor mindsets, a lack of direct revenue streams, and the fact that wider societal benefits do not accrue as income to the investor.
• Comparing the cost-effectiveness of NbS against 'grey' (engineered) infrastructure is difficult due to a lack of comparative studies and a failure to internalize the negative impacts on ecosystem services into standard cost-benefit assessments.
• Scaling up NbS is complex and involves more than just spatial and temporal dimensions; it requires consideration of jurisdictional, institutional, management, network, and knowledge scales. Misinterpreting these scales can result in suboptimal outcomes for the sustainability of human-environmental systems.

APA

Barquet, K., Leander, E., Green, J., Tuhkanen, H., Odongo, V. O., Boyland, M., Fiertz, E. K., Escobar, M., Trujillo, M., & Osano, P. (2021). Promises and pitfalls of nature-based solutions. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/spotlight-on-social-equity-finance-and-scale-nbs-2021.pdf

Chicago

Barquet, Karina, Elin Leander, Jonathan Green, Heidi Tuhkanen, Vincent Omondi Odongo, Michael Boyland, Elizabeth Katja Fiertz, et al. Promises and pitfalls of nature-based solutions. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2021. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/spotlight-on-social-equity-finance-and-scale-nbs-2021.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{barquet2021promises, author = {Barquet, Karina and Leander, Elin and Green, Jonathan and Tuhkanen, Heidi and Odongo, Vincent Omondi and Boyland, Michael and Fiertz, Elizabeth Katja and Escobar, Marisa and Trujillo, Mónica and Osano, Philip}, title = {{Promises and pitfalls of nature-based solutions}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2021}, month = jun, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/spotlight-on-social-equity-finance-and-scale-nbs-2021.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }