Climate change, biodiversity loss and increasing water-related risks are placing unprecedented pressure on communities across Europe and beyond. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are ways of working with nature to solve societal challenges, for example by restoring wetlands, creating urban green spaces or protecting rivers. By using natural processes rather than relying solely on engineered infrastructure, NbS can reduce flooding, improve environmental quality, support biodiversity and create healthier living environments.

Yet despite growing investment in NbS, many initiatives remain isolated projects embedded within fragmented planning, governance and monitoring systems, limiting their impact.  

The European Environment Agency has highlighted that the wider uptake of NbS is being held back by limited long-term monitoring and assessment of their environmental, social and economic outcomes. NBSPLUS project addresses these gaps by bringing together experts in hydrology, climatology, biodiversity, governance and the social sciences to develop the frameworks and tools needed to plan, monitor, assess and manage NbS as part of broader social-ecological systems.

The project is developing the emerging NbS Services concept through case studies in Malmö (Sweden), Valencia (Spain) and the OBV Rivière du Nord watershed, Québec, Canada. Together, these use cases explore how NbS generate and sustain benefits under different environmental, social and governance conditions.