Good practice in integrating Nature-based solutions into policy in the EU: The LIFE Artisan project supporting climate adaptation policy in France

The LIFE Artisan, flagship initiative under the National Climate Change Adaptation Plan (PNACC-3), is being implemented over 8 years (2020-2027). The project aims to demonstrate how NbS can address both ecological and human needs. Ultimately, the project seeks to create the structural and social conditions necessary for the full-scale deployment of NbS. LIFE Artisan is building capacity at all governance levels to implement NbS as a central climate adaptation response. 

Policy Good Practice Description

The project strategy is based on a three-fold approach (at local, regional and national scale): 

• a programme of ten pilot sites  across France, responding to local challenges, in full coordination with local stakeholders
• a regional network of facilitators, with one expert in each region responsible for setting up a regional stakeholder consultation group, including key actors in the deployment of NbS (regional climate and biodiversity agencies, elected officials, regional administrations, etc).
• a national network producing reports and guidance documents to support the deployment of NbS and actively engages with national policy makers on the integration of NbS in strategic documents. The national network organises regular editions of the “LIFE ARTISAN awards”.
• France’s third National Climate Change Adaptation Plan explicitly prioritises nature-based solutions to deliver climate adaptation and calls for greater support to local authorities to implement NbS.
• The LIFE ARTISAN project in France stands out as a best practice example of how NbS can be meaningfully integrated into  climate adaptation policy and is a flagship initiative of the national plan. 

The project has built capacity for NbS implementation at national, regional and local scales. Nationally, it has developed an array of policy resources and engaged with national policy makers. Regionally, it has set up regional networks for NbS and adaptation gathering biodiversity and climate actors. Locally, it is demonstrating the positive impacts of NbS in ten pilot sites.

France’s third National Climate Change Adaptation Plan (PNACC-3)  was launched by the French government in March 2025. It is designed to prepare the country for projected warming scenarios, +2 °C by 2030, +2.7 °C by 2050, and up to +4 °C by 2100. It explicitly prioritises nature-based solutions to deliver climate adaptation and calls for greater support to local authorities to implement NbS. 

The plan explicitly emphasizes the prioritization of Nature-based Solutions (NbS), highlighting their potential to deliver multiple co-benefits alongside climate adaptation. Among the 52 measures outlined in the plan, 20 measures integrate the NbS concept. Measure 20 is specifically dedicated to the deployment of NbS. NbS are integrated into measures related to protecting the population from heat waves, floods, coastal erosion, and the need for urban rewilding. NbS are also relatively well integrated into adaptation measures for the agricultural, agri-food, and fishing sectors, as well as the timber industry, and into adaptation measures for urban environments (housing, urban development).

The national adaptation plan must be translated into regional and local plans as follows: 

• At regional level, regional plans for land use, sustainable development and equality (SRADDET), or SARs for the French overseas territories and Water Development and Management Master Plans (SDAGEs) define the major objectives for adapting the regional territory. 
• At local level, intermunicipalities (EPCI) with more than 20,000 inhabitants have been required to adopt a Territorial Climate-Air-Energy Plan (PCAET) since 2018. As part of this obligation, they must conduct a vulnerability assessment of their territory to the impacts of climate change. The PCAET action plan must include a dedicated adaptation component. 

French urban planning law states that public planning efforts must aim to both fight climate change and adapt to its impacts. Local Urban Plans (PLU) play a key role in adapting to climate change, as they connect long-term territorial planning with on-the-ground development decisions. PLUs, or the inter-municipal versions (PLUi), must align with the objectives of the local Climate-Air-Energy Plans (PCAET).

Policy Good Practice Criteria:

NbS Mainstreamed in Policy Text (Legal or Strategic) and/or NbS as a Central Component of Policy Response:  NbS is explicitly mainstreamed in the national climate adaptation strategy approved in 2025 and is now being integrated slowly into regional and local plans that fall under the national strategy. However, there has not yet been enough time for this to happen in most places.

A 2023 study  from the Life Artisan project assessed the integration of NbS in 42 policy documents (including 16 at national scale and 26 at local and regional scale). The study found that national integrating well NbS were not legally constraining, and that local/regional documents also failed to integrate cross cutting objectives (like biodiversity and climate) in binding documents. The report also notes the challenges in relation to the articulation between regional planning documents, due to their density across sectors.

For example, in Brittany, the regional land use plan (SRADDET), updated in 2024, lacks explicit reference to NbS. In particular, the only objective on climate adaptation (n.22) does not mention NbS, apart from the objective to restore ecological continuity. 

LIFE Artisan is building capacity at all governance levels to implement NbS as a central climate adaptation response. However, there is not yet much evidence that NbS options have been prioritised over non-NbS approaches outside of the LIFE funded actions (see evaluation below).

Societal Challenge(s) Addressed and Human Wellbeing Outcomes Identified: The climate adaptation strategy profiles NbS as the priority to address multiple climate adaptation challenges across the French territory: flood risk, water scarcity, urban heat island effect, coastal erosion, etc. 

Nbs brings also multiple benefits:

• Physical and mental health, Enabling social interactions
• Social benefits: Hospitality and attractivity for tourists and locals
• Reinforcing landscape identity

In Brittany, the pilot focuses on the most urgent impacts of climate change:  impacts of drought on drinking water supply, flood risks, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss.

Dedicated Budget/Funding Stream: The national climate adaptation strategy has no dedicated funding. The LIFE project has secured EU plus national co-funding for the 8 years of the project (EUR 16.7 million including EUR 10 million from EU LIFE). For example, the Brittany pilot has funding from LIFE (60%), Ille et Vilaine Department (20%), Atlantic Marshes Forum (National network for extensive livestock breeding on wetlands) (20%). 

The project is exploring additional sources of funding to allow the continuation of activities (the regional networks of facilitators) after the LIFE grant ends.

Indicators of Impact and Evaluation Framework: At pilot scale, ecological parameters are being monitored on the pilot sites based on evaluation methodologies (such as methodologies for wet ecosystems in Brittany) developed within the project. The methodology involves baseline evaluation, indicators monitoring ecosystem functions, specific composition, structural diversity, etc. 

At national level, as of June 2025, a review phase is underway, with 4–5 separate evaluations covering: 

• Economic (to be carried out in 2026-2027) ;
• Socio-cultural (to be carried in 2026)
• governance (study published in 2024) 
• Technical and scientific

Every pilot site are monitorin different indicators, all coming from a “referentiel de suivi-évaluation” made by ARTSAN’s partners and available online : 

In parallel to evaluating the impact of the project, studies have been carried out at national level on multiple aspects of NbS implementation and uptake: Study on barriers and opportunities for stakeholder engagement on NbS (2021) , study on the integration of NbS in PCAETs (2022) and SDAGEs (2023), study on the market of NbS (2022), study on available knowledge on NbS (2022), study on NbS funding (2023). Regional and local studies have also been produced by partners of the project (see the Life Artisan Resources catalogue)

Inclusivity and Stakeholder Engagement: Stakeholder engagement is a core objective of the Life Artisan project, and a leading action is the creation of a regional network of facilitators focusing on increasing coordination between local actors, building capacity, and making the link between local and national level (spreading awareness about available resources, national policies, needs identified at local scale, etc).

Consistency within Policy Mix: The project objectives are coherent with the national frameworks for climate and biodiversity (National Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, National Strategy for climate change adaptation).

The national team of the project ensures coherence within the national and regional policy mix, with direct engagement with policy makers and the development of dedicated policy studies (see “indicators of impact and evaluation framework).

Knowledge Development and Transmission: The national pillar of the project focuses on creating 100+ resources to support the implementation of NbS at regional level (fiches, guidance documents, evaluations, reports, etc), including a user friendly Interactive tool for adapting our territories to climate change with Nature-based Solutions.

The project is developing capacity building with workshops (organised by regional facilitators), dedicated training for regional and local authorities (to be fully deployed in 2026), training dedicated to universities (6 training modules available), regional sessions for private and local decision makers (2 per year in each region), and the upcoming development of a MOOC in 2026 (for a general audience). 

Success Factors/Uptake/Impact: 

The project is contributing to awareness raising on climate change and biodiversity during the initial consultation phase and regional network of 14 facilitators dedicated to coordination with local policy makers and practitioners.

• Multi-scale project with impacts at national, regional, and local scales. The national LIFE ARTISAN networkis facilitating a community of dialogue between decision-maker, practitioners scientists. The network has been for example working on funding issues with CDC biodiversity and capacity building with training provision with the National Centre for the Local Civil Service. 
• Regional scale: Development of stakeholder engagement tools tailored with regional specific issues and actors at stake, in order to ease future NbS project implementation. Development of a regional network animated by 14 coordinators. 
• Local scale: Implementation of NbS pilots to demonstrate positive impact of NbS, with the capacity to monitor a broad range of data and indicators that will be valued to other potential NbS project leaders. Ex) in Brittany, the project allowed restoration of ecological continuity and habitats for wetland species in the catchment basin: Wetland restoration, re-meandering of watercourses, planting of hedgerows, management of invasive alien species to protect native biodiversity.
• Multi actor governance is including all affected stakeholders:  the pilot project in Brittany is coordinated by the French Office for Biodiversity, the Forum des Marais Atlantiques, University Rennes 2, Local administration of St Meen Montauban. Besides, consultation with local officials and inhabitants was carried out before the restoration activities’ implementation to increase acceptance.
• Awareness raising activities are organised with elected officials and local inhabitants on climate change impacts and value of NbS. 
• Creation of targeted resources (100+ resources available on the website) among which a flagship ressources, an interactive tool, to support stakeholders in implementing Nature-based Solutions for climate change adaptation. 

It consists of two key resources:

• A special publication aimed at decision-makers, exploring the benefits of Nature-based Solutions, how they work and showcasing concrete examples already implemented in mainland France and overseas territories;
• A toolkit for technical teams, bringing together the technical resources and essential tools needed to take action.

By supporting local project leaders and aiming to embed NbS into territorial planning processes, LIFE ARTISAN helps ensure that its impact will last well beyond the life of the project itself, creating a replicable model for policy-driven NbS integration.

Barriers and Challenges:

Lack of legally binding requirements: The national climate adaptation strategy has no legal power, and its measures are not directly linked to a national law. The effectiveness of PNACC 3 measures depends largely on the rapid publication of decrees, orders and instructions, and these do not yet exist. 

Insufficient dedicated funding:  A recent evaluation of the PNACC-3 from the French High Council for Climate (HCC) highlighted that most measures highlighted in the adaptation strategy were not accompanied by dedicated funding and when detailed, insufficient. To guaranty effective implementation, the plan would require the publication of a detailed multi-year financing plan for the measures adopted. In addition, the HCC noted that several adaptation measures depend on the French Green Fund, which was recently reduced by €1.35 billion, from €2.5 billion in 2024 to €1.15 billion in 2025. Ultimately, the lack of funding support for adaptation might hinder the deployment of NbS at regional and local level.

The Life Artisan project has faced several institutional barriers [9bis]:

• Land access and actor coordination: Many challenges are related to land access and coordination among stakeholders. In areas with fragmented private land ownership, land becomes more complicated than land with public ownership.
•  Costs: Construction work NbS is often cheaper than civil engineering solutions, but ecological projects have higher maintenance costs. In addition, preparatory studies (including ecological assessments) represent a non negligeable cost in NbS projects. In France, maintenance costs are poorly integrated into budgets, including for natural areas. Projects also need to be adaptable overtime, but municipalities rarely account for this. The accounting aspects of NbS projects is different than civil engineering solutions, which creates barriers for local administrations and favours business as usual. 
• Training and competences: the maintenance of natural areas and specially newly restored areas require knowledge about local species, differentiated management of green spaces. The lack of competencies from work compagnies or maintenance staff can lead to damage recent plantations and restoration work. 
• Resistance from residents: Local opposition may arise due to attachment to existing landscapes. Projects must always consider how the land is used. For example, restoring a stream might involve removing an artificial pond, which can cause conflict. Changes in land use need to be supported. Landscape and territorial identity play a big role. Local elected officials can either support or hinder projects — experiences vary.
• Cognitive biases: In coastal restoration projects (e.g., removing rocks, restoring coastal zones), people’s perceptions may be biased, the way they feel about changes doesn’t always reflect reality.
• Data expectations: There is a greater demand for environmental data for NbS projects, compared to traditional civil engineering projects.

Fiche author: Laure-Lou Tremblay (ltremblay@ieep.eu)

More information on the initiative: Coordinator, Amaury Parelle (OFB): amaury.parelle@ofb.gouv.fr ; Technical expert, Natalia Ramirez-Rodriguez (OFB): natalia.ramirez-rodriguez@ofb.gouv.fr 

IEEP