Objectives

The main objective of NATURA is to develop economic, regulatory, and disaster risk financing instruments that upscale the adoption of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and achieve resilient adaptation to water scarcity and hydroclimatic extremes. To this end, NATURA will field a groundbreaking ecosystem of innovation that combines (1) an inclusive and transparent stakeholder engagement and knowledge sharing method, the knowledge networks, with (2) an actionable modeling suite that integrates cutting edge socio-ecological ensemble modeling into the Decision Support System (DSS) used by stakeholders, so as to design, demonstrate feasibility and performance, and catalyze the implementation of NbS in (3) three living labs that inspire similar processes elsewhere: the Douro River Basin (RB) in Spain, the Reno RB in Italy, and the Nitra RB in Slovakia.

General activities

• Analyze models, scenarios and metrics currently used by stakeholders, and enhance the integration of these models and methods with cutting-edge socio-ecological research and ensemble forecasting, to generate actionable science that informs the adoption of NbS.
• Design and demonstrate institutional and technical feasibility and performance of a transition towards economic and environmental resilience in areas exposed to water scarcity and extremes.
• Design, test, and inform the adoption of NbS, harnessing the potential of economic, regulatory, and disaster risk financing instruments.
• Develop multi-sector and multi-stakeholder partnerships that create and operationalize novel financing mechanisms to secure sustainable investment into, and cost recovery of, NbS, including investments to update NbS in face of changes, taking into consideration private and public financing mechanisms.
• Replicate adoption of the ecosystem of innovation by establishing during the project’s lifetime “inspiration” labs across the world that explore NbS adoption.
• Upscale: Synthesize and upscale the results obtained in the targeted labs to inform national and international strategies for water resources management, green infrastructures, climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction, sustainable development, and ecosystem protection in the EU.

Expected results

• An actionable modeling suite setting a new paradigm for the management of NbS. Methods will be replicable, scalable and transferable to other domains beyond water, such as land or agriculture.
• A Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) database, so to allow re-elaboration of the data to spur further research.
• Novel results that help guide the transition towards resilient adaptation and sustainable development. Through active stakeholder engagement we will provide actionable science and outcomes that catalyze informed NbS adoption.

NATURA will realize the following socioeconomic impacts:

• Facilitating deployment of a NATURA-enabled decision support system by demonstrating its added value for stakeholders in living labs.
• Offering concrete regulatory, economic and risk financing solutions to overcome barriers hampering deployment of NbS.
• Catalyzing adoption of resilient NbS with potential to contribute to water and other policy objectives through a wide range of co-benefits.
• Identify legal, policy, regulatory, financial and technical barriers, and reform options for NbS adoption, and inform national and EU key strategies towards upscaling NbS adoption.

Grant CNS2022-135132 funded by: