Presented by Sara Van Rompaey Architect E2ARC

Presented by Tom Armour

Much has been written about the potential contribution of citizen-science approaches to further urban environmental sustainability, and associated interventions such as nature-based solutions (NBS). Engagements between researchers and stakeholders relying on bottom-up information provision, for instance community mapping, are often purported to play a vital role in developing shared knowledge, achieving greater impact and stimulating innovation. However, relatively few studies within the realm of NBS have reported on experiences in using volunteered information, or their results.

There is extensive experience in adaptive management of exposed sandy coastlines through sand nourishment for coastal protection. However, in complex estuarine systems, coastlines are often shortened through damming estuaries to achieve desired safety levels. The Dutch Deltaworks illustrate that this approach disrupts natural sediment fluxes and harms ecosystem health, which negatively affects derived ecosystem services, such as freshwater availability and mussel and oyster farming. This heavily impacts local communities and thus requires additional maintenance and management efforts.

The presented study aimed at identifying and assessing public preferences for variations in tree species composition, tree height structure, and presence of dead trees left for natural decay—forest characteristics which are likely to be affected when subjecting stands to nature-based forest management in the temperate, nemoral deciduous zone. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire and by applying choice experiments to elicit people's willingness to pay (WTP).

The decision to transform “classical” age-class forests (plantation forestry) into more nature-based forest stand structures implied a paradigmatic shift in the Danish state owned forests and their management. In order to facilitate this process of change, scientists were employed by the Danish Forest and Nature Agency which enabled interactions with the professionals in the forest over a nearly 2-year period.

Workshop with Horizon 2020 SC5 programme committee representatives and Member States and Associated Countries (MS/AC) experts
NATURE BASED SOLUTIONS
2 June 2017 9:00-16:00
(CDMA building, SDR1-2, Rue du Champ de Mars, 21, Brussels)