There is growing recognition that naturebased (or ‘green’) solutions - i.e. the restoration or rehabilitation and protection of natural habitats - when applied strategically and equitably can not only safeguard biodiversity and ecosystem services but also help people adapt to climate change [1,2]. The type of NbS targeted at helping people adapt to the impacts and hazards of climate change is widely referred to as “Ecosystem-based Adaptation” (EbA).

Changes in global climate are increasingly having adverse impacts on human populations and natural systems. This has resulted in increased efforts to come up with options that can mitigate the impacts, as well as help to adapt to already occurring changes. Ecosystem based adaptation is used by a number of organisations and in many developed and developing countries as a means for climate adaptation, especially at the community level. It is also applied for disaster risk reduction.

This booklet sets out guidance for assessing the effectiveness of an ecosystem-based approach to climate change adaptation.

The idea of ‘nature-based solutions’ (NBS) is now being used to reframe policy debates on biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, and the sustainable use of natural resources, among other issues. While interesting and potentially useful for those debates, it is a concept that still needs to be clearly defined; its use is not confined to discussions about ecosystem services and natural capital.

In this paper, we reflect on the implications for science, policy and practice of the recently introduced concept of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), with a focus on the European context. First, we analyse NBS in relation to similar concepts, and reflect on its relationship to sustainability as an overarching framework. From this, we derive a set of questions to be addressed and propose a general framework for how these might be addressed in NBS projects by funders, researchers, policy-makers and practitioners.

Many national and international environmental agreements acknowledge that the impoverishment of ecosystems is limiting the world’s capacity to adapt to climate change and that ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) approaches should be harnessed as a priority. EbA has the potential to increase adaptive capacity and social and ecological resilience to climate change in both developed and developing countries.

Many of the world’s vital natural ecosystems, and the communities reliant on them, are vulnerable to climate change. But there is increasing recognition that ecosystems — if sustainably restored and protected — can also form a strong line of defence against the direct impacts of climate change and support human adaptation over the long term. As the evidence base grows, ecosystems are increasingly prominent in climate change policy, especially in developing nations. Yet intentions rarely translate into robust and informed measurable targets, undermining action.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) aim to help societies to address a variety of environmental, social and economic challenges in sustainable ways. They are actions which are inspired by and supported by nature. Some involve using and enhancing existing natural solutions to challenges, while others are exploring more novel solutions, for example, based on how non-human organisms and communities cope with environmental extremes.

This Report provides a description of the procedure and the outcomes of the work performed within the domain of NBS Impact Evaluation Framework.