Description
Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have been defined many times, but in essence are developing solutions to societal problems using natural processes. Many ways of assessing the potential benefits and disbenefits of these NbS have been put forward and, if these assessment frameworks are to be used for best results, then the most appropriate framework(s) should be identified and recommended to users. This project searched for potential assessment frameworks and carried out a two-stage process to identify the most appropriate framework. The initial search identified 23 frameworks which were then independently evaluated by the project team. Seven met the assessment criteria and went through to the detailed evaluation of the second stage which asked 15 questions about the framework design, coverage and practicality of use. The IUCN Global Standard was identified as the best designed framework. It is comprehensive, supported by a significant international body and will likely be widely used allowing experience to build up and comparisons o be made between schemes. Other frameworks performed better in some areas: the ThinkNature Handbook provides a better introduction to NbS, the Interreg Building with Nature frameworks provides a simple scoring approach suitable for situations where detailed valuation of benefits and disbenefits isn’t practical, EKLIPSE covers social benefit assessment comprehensively, whilst ENCA provides useful valuation data and approaches. We recommend the adoption of the IUCN Global Standard and a number of steps to help embed it in practice, including: testing it on marine NbS assessment, develop a commentary on its use, develop versions for use by different stakeholder groups, publish example assessments from Scotland to provide a template for others to follow, provide information on available valuation data and develop ways of using the framework for investment decisions.
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Name: Evaluating Nature-based Solutions -A Synthesis.pdf
Type: document
File: PDF
Size: 3.43 MB