Nature-based solution evaluation indicators: Environmental Indicators Review

A report comprising reviews of core and recommended evaluation indicators for evaluating the benefits, co-benefits, and trade-offs associated with nature-based solution indicators. Review comprises those indicators selected within the Connecting Nature WP1 indicators scoping coproduction exercise carried out in collaboration with front-runner cities: Genk, Glasgow and Poznań.

Connecting Nature are co-working with local authorities, communities, industry partners, NGOs and academics to scale up the implementation of nature-based projects in urban settings. As part of this process, we are working with cities to co-produce a comprehensive suite of evaluation indicators that capture a holistic evidence-base representing the range of benefits, co-benefits and dis-benefits that nature-based solutions can provide in urban settings. This includes impact in relation to climate change adaptation, health and well-being, social cohesion and sustainable economic development in these cities.

Evaluation indicators were divided between a number of themes related to the challenges that nature-based solution benefits can address. The themes selected were: economic; environmental; health & wellbeing; social. Within each of these themes, a review of potential evaluation indicators was carried out, these were then categorised into those proposed as being core to evaluating all nature-based solutions (core), those that align closely with city strategic priorities but are not relevant to all nature-based solutions (feature), and those that are useful in some situations but are of less strategic importance. For a full description of this process see project Deliverable 1 (Dumitru, A, et al. (2019) Deliverable 1.1 - Report on the contributions of Tasks 1.1 to 1.4)

Following this process, reviews of potential metrics for delivering these evaluation indicators were carried out. The results of these are being used to support city decision-making for nature-based solution evaluation. Evaluation is critical to mainstreaming Nature-Based Solutions and how the Connecting Nature project has been working to develop indicators to support this process.

This report represents a compendium of the reviews of all of the Environmental Indicators developed during this process.