Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have gained growing attention in recent years for their capacity to address global challenges. NbS have the potential to address all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. A strong added value of Nature-based Solutions are the multiple co-benefits they provide in addition to the main challenge they are designed to address.
Nature-based Solutions are cross-sectoral in nature. Mainstreaming of NbS requires joint actions, coordinated efforts and greater collaboration from various stakeholders and actors from policy, governance, finance and science spheres. Partnerships are crucial to break down barriers in terms of technology, culture or socioeconomic and across different thematic areas for the successful uptake of NbS approach at local and global levels. This cross-cutting nature of NbS makes them a powerful tool to facilitate and catalyze the engagement of cross-sectoral stakeholders. The formation of global partnerships and collaborations benefits sharing of knowledge and resources through adding evidence-base, best practices and stories of success and failure. This is a crucial step towards capacity building and awareness raising on the NbS concept and approach, which will further enable the design of even more effective, affordable and sustainable NbS interventions.
Many collaborations have formed in the recent years within and beyond the European Union borders for the uptake of Nature-based Solutions. From the funding opportunities such as Horizone Europe and LIFE+ programmes, to knowledge sharing platforms and networks such as NetworkNature and the Nature-based Solutions Task Forces. Such collaborations and partnerships have resulted in the production of a number of key knowledge products that have been influencing environmental negotiations at regional and global levels. This session will focus on the European Union’s coordinated effort on the uptake and mainstreaming of Nature-based Solutions. The speakers will share the vision behind the NbS research and innovation funding mechanisms and the formation of the NbS Task Force clusters. This event will showcase the knowledge products produced through the NetworkNature platform as a token of what could be achieved by breaking the existing silos. The speakers will also share examples of successful international collaborations beyond the EU borders and provide an overview of the state of negotiations at the global level and the next steps we need to take.
Speakers:
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Clive DAVIES - Senior Researcher, Advisor and Facilitator on Urban Forestry at the Governance and Resilience Programme, European Forest Institute
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Susanna GIONFRA – Senior Project Officer Nature-based Solutions, IUCN
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Piret NOUKAS - Project Adviser at Research Executive Agency, European Commission.
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Daniela RIZZI - Senior Officer for Nature Based Solutions, Green Infrastructures and Biodiversity, ICLEI
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Karin Zaunberger – Policy Officer, European Commission
Moderator:
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Dorsa SHEIKHOLESLAMI – Nature-based Solutions Programme Officer, IUCN ¦ Moderator
The event is organized under the NetworkNature project and with the support of the European Commission.