The knowledge gap database compiles an evidence base for Nature-based Solutions, to support defining research and innovation avenues, and bolster policy and practitioners’ knowledge and knowledge-implementation. This database, first published in 2021 and updated in June 2024, aggregates knowledge gaps and research needs identified through extensive desk research, drawing from academic and non-academic sources. For a detailed explanation of the methodology and analysis behind the 2024 update, please refer to this NetworkNature report. For more context on the initial database see the NetworkNature report on practical, research, and innovation needs.
The updated database includes additional 619 gaps categorised into 32 broad topics and 11 types of approaches. This marks a significant expansion from the initial database, established in 2021, which contained 172 knowledge gaps. Covering gaps from 2017 to March 2024, this database will be continually updated throughout the duration of NetworkNature+.
| Gap description | Origin of source | Source | Resource | Broad topic | Types of approaches | |
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| Ecosystems are comprised of diverse interdependencies that can be very complex. Climatic conditions, landscape form, type and methods of human use, nutrient supply and many other factors influence the occurrence of animal and plant species and other (micro)organisms. These in turn impact living conditions in and around the respective ecosystem. However, the accelerated climate crisis and unsustainable uses are affecting the balance of our ecosystems, forcing them to adapt quickly to new conditions. We need in-depth research on these interactions in our changing ecosystems. The better we understand the interdependencies, the more precisely we can tailor the options for nature- based climate action. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) (2023) Federal Action Plan on Nature-based Solutions for Climate and Biodiversity |
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| Possible research areas are the potential and limits of NbS (including in combination with technical solutions), with a focus on integrated solutions in natural spaces. Examples are flood prevention in low mountain ranges, groundwater recharge, water storage in agricultural landscapes, retention areas in watercourses and natural coastal protection. A specific field of research might be assessing the possibilities and limitations of NbS for climate-resilient, water-smart urban development (sponge city). | Desk Study | Institutional publication | Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) (2023) Federal Action Plan on Nature-based Solutions for Climate and Biodiversity |
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| Another possible topic is the capacity of farmland or local ecosystems to retain water in the landscape. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) (2023) Federal Action Plan on Nature-based Solutions for Climate and Biodiversity |
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| Gaps in data and prior experience about long-term cost-effectiveness. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Naumann, S., Burgos Cuevas, N., Davies, C. (2023). Harnessing the power of collaboration for nature-based solutions : new ideas and insights for local decision-makers, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/954370 |
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| Air quality and heatwaves generate high risks for human health with implications on the insurance industry. User-friendly valuation tools for the evaluation of risk reduction by using urban NBS should be developed. It would be important to understand how this evidence can be used to carry out investment ratings and to price the risk value of urban NBS. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Calfapietra, C. (2020). Nature-based solutions for microclimate regulation and air quality : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/383904 |
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| Air quality is still a major challenge to European citizens' health, in particular because of particle and ozone pollution. Serious knowledge gaps still exist about the species specific and NBS-specific particle and ozone forming potentials and capacity of pollution uptake. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Calfapietra, C. (2020). Nature-based solutions for microclimate regulation and air quality : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/383904 |
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| More research is needed to estimate the particle-forming potential (plants emit species-specific volatile compounds that act as aerosol precursors), ozone forming potential (the same volatiles stimulate O3 formation and emission factors are missing for a huge number of species) and capacity of pollution uptake (data and models) for different plant species and plant-assembled NBS. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Calfapietra, C. (2020). Nature-based solutions for microclimate regulation and air quality : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/383904 |
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| The best species in the best place’ is a successful motto but is not substantiated by research results especially considering the changing climate, social and economic scenarios. Planning and maintenance of NBS will need to rely on ambitious selection programs similarly to what is done for agricultural varieties in order to increase the potential benefits on human health and well-being and considering the mitigation capacity both in terms of air quality and urban heat island effect. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Calfapietra, C. (2020). Nature-based solutions for microclimate regulation and air quality : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/383904 |
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| Sustainable NBS must be safe, durable and resilient to extreme weather events, including heat waves and pollution peaks, windstorms, excessive precipitation and drought. So far, most projects have investigated the effects of NBS on microclimate, while the susceptibility of NBS to extreme events has been neglected and requires further research. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Calfapietra, C. (2020). Nature-based solutions for microclimate regulation and air quality : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/383904 |
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| With respect to small-scale NBS, apart from the need to continuously gain further evidence on their individual performance characteristics in different settings (i.e., different climate conditions, quantity and quality, cultural and governance contexts, single and multiple hazards, etc.) and associated costs, more efforts are needed to address the full potential of their co-benefits and how these can be quantified and/or monetised. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Vojinovic, Z. (2020). Nature-based solutions for flood mitigation and coastal resilience : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/374113 |
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| There is a large gap between the amount of research concerning small scale NBS in urban areas and large scale NBS at the catchment (or river basin), rural, coastal and regional level. Hence, further research concerning their performance individually and in hybrid combinations with small-scale NBS and grey infrastructure would be very beneficial. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Vojinovic, Z. (2020). Nature-based solutions for flood mitigation and coastal resilience : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/374113 |
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| Currently, the tools, such as real-time data acquisition and modelling, optimisation algorithms and decision-support systems, which are necessary for planning and implementation of NBS, are rather scattered and incomplete. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Vojinovic, Z. (2020). Nature-based solutions for flood mitigation and coastal resilience : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/374113 |
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| Also, to support efforts for wider uptake of NBS it is necessary to advance the methodologies and tools for systematic evaluation of benefits and co-benefits (especially those related to social and ecological system, e.g. aesthetics values, community liveability, and human health), frameworks and methods for optimal selection of “hybrid measures” (i.e. combinations of grey infrastructure and smalland large-scale NBS). This aspect is being addressed in the three large-scale NBS projects (i.e. RECONECT, OPERANDUM and PHUSICOS) and the results that will be obtained could provide a basis for future research activities. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Vojinovic, Z. (2020). Nature-based solutions for flood mitigation and coastal resilience : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/374113 |
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| Further efforts should also be placed on the developments of tools that combine real-time monitoring and control systems, advanced flood risk assessment methodologies and models, smart early warning systems, numerical weather prediction models and flood risk models to advance real-time operational potential of NBS (i.e., development of SMART NBS). | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Vojinovic, Z. (2020). Nature-based solutions for flood mitigation and coastal resilience : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/374113 |
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| Development of practical design standards, guidance documents and supporting tools would also be very beneficial. This would maximise the chances for their multi-functionality and minimise the chances for their undesirable performance effects. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Vojinovic, Z. (2020). Nature-based solutions for flood mitigation and coastal resilience : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/374113 |
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| A topic requiring further investigation that is of particular relevance to water-management NBS, but also of wider interest, involves the performance and characteristics of plants and soils for pollution control and water storage in different contexts under different maintenance regimes. This requires fundamental science and wider academic input on: (a) the impact of climate change on those qualities; (b) the supply chain of materials including plants, soils and substrates; and (c) choices as to what vegetation to plant where, considering relationships between the use of plants and landscapes for water management c.f. aesthetics, c.f. biodiversity. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Wild, T. (2020). Nature-based solutions improving water quality & waterbody conditions : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/2898 |
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| Progress has been made to develop internationally comparable monitoring regimes and scientific underpinnings relating to good ecological status and potential, but a broader range of perspectives beyond the purely technical will be required to shift - from understanding waterbodies - towards facilitating rapid and widespread action to implement measures for achieving good status. Doing so needs insights from social researchers and political sciences as well as those with biological and technical backgrounds. In particular, input may be required from those with expertise in monetary valuation of NBS, to understand data on primarily the economic values- side, but also on the prices- side of NBS cost-benefit analyses, enabling more realistic comparisons with hard engineered approaches especially at finer scales and in specific development contexts. The challenges and opportunities therein are also linked with earlier decisions not to include aesthetics as a WFD {Water Framework Directive} indicator for waterbody status, in contrast with other (predecessor) classification schemes. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Wild, T. (2020). Nature-based solutions improving water quality & waterbody conditions : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/2898 |
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| It also highlights important research needs, including: knowledge on ‘leaky barriers’ and catchment restoration improvement measures; monitoring of the geomorphic, hydraulic and ecological effects of river restoration (such as daylighting culverted rivers); and better understanding of the functioning of floodplains during extreme events. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Wild, T. (2020). Nature-based solutions improving water quality & waterbody conditions : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/2898 |
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| Following work on the FP7 PHENOTYPE project, Lawrence et al. (2019) stress that much research relating to health benefits of outdoor natural environments have followed oversimplified linear cause–effect models, whilst neglecting interaction between key variables and feedback loops between different components. Ossola et al. (2018) also highlight that many projects fail to capture the complexity of service provision mediated by interactions between people and ecological structures. These results point to important areas for future research and innovation. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Wild, T. (2020). Nature-based solutions improving water quality & waterbody conditions : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/2898 |
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| Much of the research on the role of NBSs for sustainable communities has been conducted in an urban environment, with the result that we have more limited understanding of how such interventions might support the development of rural sustainability or the generation of sustainable communities at the landscape level across both urban and rural domains. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, (2020). Nature-based solutions towards sustainable communities : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/877034 |
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| Further research is needed to explore the role of NBSs in generating new kinds of connections and values for nature and with what consequences. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, (2020). Nature-based solutions towards sustainable communities : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/877034 |
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| There has to date been limited research on the ways in which diverse forms of urban/rural nature are valued and through which means, and this has had little impact on the design and implementation of NBSs which tend to prioritise established expertise over local knowledge and values and to miss the opportunity of taking diversity in terms of what is seen to be valued in the natural environment into account in their design. Further research could explore what counts as nature, what is valued and why this varies amongst individuals and communities as well as how this can be taken into account in the development of future NBSs. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, (2020). Nature-based solutions towards sustainable communities : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/877034 |
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| Further research is needed into how business models, finance mechanisms and governance arrangements can be established that enable the implementation of NBSs without generating large increases in the value of land and property that in turn produce forms of green gentrification. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, (2020). Nature-based solutions towards sustainable communities : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/877034 |
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| Further research is needed to examine how such approaches can be established within current systems of governance and what new kinds of powers, capacities and financing might be required to enable local authorities or other actors to generate such initiatives. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, (2020). Nature-based solutions towards sustainable communities : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/877034 |
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| Our understanding of the carbon storage and sequestration potential of NBS tends to be dominated by particular ecosystems (forests) and derived from individual case studies. Further research is required to establish how diverse NBS across multiple ecosystems and in rural and urban settings can store and sequester carbon. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, (2020). Nature-based solutions for climate mitigation : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/458136 |
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| Our analysis of the potential impact of NBS for climate resilience and mitigation focuses on singular interventions. Further research is needed to develop both empirical knowledge and models/scenarios that can analyse the combined impact of multiple interventions at the landscape scale. There is also a need to build our understanding of the embodied carbon involved in the deployment of these initiatives and how this compares to other interventions aimed at ensuring sustainable development. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, (2020). Nature-based solutions for climate mitigation : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/458136 |
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| There is limited understanding of the trade-offs involved in developing NBS for climate mitigation, both in relation to other environmental objectives (e.g. for biodiversity goals) and also in relation to other social and economic priorities. Further research on how NBS can be designed to contribute to the SDGs and the ways in which ‘just transitions’ can be enabled is needed. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, (2020). Nature-based solutions for climate mitigation : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/458136 |
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| The role of particular species and specific functional traits are understudied. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, (2020). Biodiversity and nature-based solutions : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/183298 |
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| Schwarz et al. (2017) suggest that as urban planners are increasingly considering ecosystem service delivery in their decision-making processes, researchers need to address these substantial knowledge gaps to allow for the adequate accounting of potential trade-offs and synergies between biodiversity conservation and the promotion of ecosystem services. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, (2020). Biodiversity and nature-based solutions : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/183298 |
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| Breaking silos remains a key challenge in this regard as well as increasing the knowledge and evidence base as a means to foster wider support and awareness of biodiverse NBS as a multifunctional approach to address societal challenges. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, (2020). Biodiversity and nature-based solutions : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/183298 |
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| How should NBS be designed and implemented to effectively contribute to the protection of biodiversity (habitat structure/condition and species composition) at different scales, while also delivering other benefits (e.g. climate change mitigation and adaptation, human health, social cohesion)? How does NBS design impact the relationship between biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, ecosystem service delivery and human health (focusing in particular on functional aspects of biodiversity and impacts on species)? What trade-offs are generated based on different designs, and how can these be taken into account during decision-making processes? | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, (2020). Biodiversity and nature-based solutions : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/183298 |
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| What role can NBS play in the development and implementation of no net loss approaches addressing urban and rural biodiversity? What effective ‘no net loss’ approaches and systems exist for urban biodiversity within and beyond Europe? How can such approaches be standardised and translated into binding regulations, and at which scale is most effective? | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, (2020). Biodiversity and nature-based solutions : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/183298 |
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| What are the costs and multiple benefits generated by different types and scales of NBS and hybrid solutions (combining grey and natural elements) aiming to protect biodiversity as a primary objective? How can the approaches and indicators for measuring these contributions towards biodiversity and other objectives be improved and streamlined? | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, (2020). Biodiversity and nature-based solutions : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/183298 |
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| How is climate change foreseen to impact ecosystem health and individual species across the EU? How can NBS support adaptation efforts to cope with these impacts? Alternatively, what is the potential contribution of biodiverse NBS to mitigate climate change? How can EU policy support NBS uptake within the current framework or foster further efforts within new or updated policies and initiatives (e.g. EU Adaptation Strategy; EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030; European Green Deal) to mitigate and support biodiversity’s adaptation to climate change? | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, (2020). Biodiversity and nature-based solutions : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/183298 |
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| How can current climate, energy and agriculture models better account for potential impacts on and changes in biodiversity and the delivery of ecosystem services, therewith contributing to the revision of associated policy frameworks? How can models contribute to improved decision-making as well as to reducing unintended negative side effects from and increasing positive benefits for other sectoral policies? | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, (2020). Biodiversity and nature-based solutions : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/183298 |
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| What innovative management approaches can be applied in protected areas to help overcome key current challenges, e.g. a lack of viability or sustainability due to lack of cost-effectiveness, value for money, societal acceptance or other issues; failure to deliver expected outcomes in terms of biodiversity protection? | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, (2020). Biodiversity and nature-based solutions : analysis of EU-funded projects, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/183298 |
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| For designing the implementation of NBS, a knowledge need concerns overarching design principles for NBS that can be adapted to locally appropriate solutions, and guide them and associated institutional embedding to operationalise solutions-oriented thinking. This knowledge need is intensified by the existence of rich information about NBS and the need to have design frameworks that are based on evidence. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Herzog, C., Freitas, T., Wiedman, G. (2022). Nature-based solutions and the challenges of water : accelerating the transition to more sustainable cities, (C.Herzog,editor,T.Freitas,editor,G.Wiedman,edito) Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/95912 |
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| Another identifiable knowledge need is in selecting appropriate monitoring and evaluation frameworks for the multiple impacts of NBS, to build the policy learning and social learning from the evaluation of multiple benefits of NBS compared with grey infrastructure. A weighted evaluation of NBS that also considers wider social benefits such as social cohesion and social justice is much needed. Recent research on ecosystem services evaluation has often neglected this knowledge gap and pointed to the conceptual or semantic challenges in valuing ecosystem services and NBS. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Herzog, C., Freitas, T., Wiedman, G. (2022). Nature-based solutions and the challenges of water : accelerating the transition to more sustainable cities, (C.Herzog,editor,T.Freitas,editor,G.Wiedman,edito) Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/95912 |
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| Research on urban governance and environmental management for NBS has underspecified what the required skills are for planning and implementing large-scale systemic urban solutions. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Herzog, C., Freitas, T., Wiedman, G. (2022). Nature-based solutions and the challenges of water : accelerating the transition to more sustainable cities, (C.Herzog,editor,T.Freitas,editor,G.Wiedman,edito) Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/95912 |
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| This leads to the second challenge, namely to understand and estimate the values of the multiple benefits of NBS. In many cases, the values side of the cost–benefit equation is largely neglected, or handled in ways that are either insufficiently robust or (just as problematically) using methods that are incommensurate with standard accounting practices. To make real progress in implementing NBS, proponents must engage with a wide range of ‘value articulating institutions’, including political decision-making processes and established calculative practices such as local authority accounting principles and development industry viability tests. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Herzog, C., Freitas, T., Wiedman, G. (2022). Nature-based solutions and the challenges of water : accelerating the transition to more sustainable cities, (C.Herzog,editor,T.Freitas,editor,G.Wiedman,edito) Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/95912 |
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| It is clear that the ecological, hydrological, geotechnical and climatological dynamics of constructed wetlands tend to vary greatly and are highly complex. In general, fewer studies have been conducted on these dynamics than on conventional treatment plants. Urgent investment is needed in research to quantify the (social, environmental, economic and public health) co-benefits generated by the technology. Comparative cost–benefit analyses should also be conducted considering performance in relation to or in combination with conventional solutions, as should studies on the application and performance of native species from local ecosystems. With the increased use of constructed wetlands in several urban and peri-urban areas around the world, greater investment is expected in experiments and applied science in ecological treatment and the consequent reuse of water, thereby helping to inform future decisions for sustainable cities. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Herzog, C., Freitas, T., Wiedman, G. (2022). Nature-based solutions and the challenges of water : accelerating the transition to more sustainable cities, (C.Herzog,editor,T.Freitas,editor,G.Wiedman,edito) Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/95912 |
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| How blue spaces promote social cohesion is less researched than physical activities, mainly because social cohesion in relation to waterscapes does not lend itself easily to experimental research. Direct evidence is therefore scarce but, by analogy, it can be remembered, for example, that, at residential neighbourhood level, local inhabitants’ perception of the quality of urban green areas increases with their attachment to the place. Similarly, few studies have addressed how the presence of blue spaces in residential neighbourhoods strengthens individuals’ bonds with others and the natural environment. Feeling safe in the blue space is a major condition for this to happen, just as the blue spaces must be well maintained (unpolluted and clean) and provide attractive recreational or physical activity facilities to realise their full potential in developing social ties. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Herzog, C., Freitas, T., Wiedman, G. (2022). Nature-based solutions and the challenges of water : accelerating the transition to more sustainable cities, (C.Herzog,editor,T.Freitas,editor,G.Wiedman,edito) Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/95912 |
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| Up to now, most of the scientific research has focused on the positive impact of blue spaces in urban environments. However, a limited body of research has been done regarding the negative impact of blue spaces on health and well-being (e.g. through the risk of drowning, flooding, pollution): this gap needs to be filled in the future in order to provide the full cost–benefit analysis usually required by policymakers. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Herzog, C., Freitas, T., Wiedman, G. (2022). Nature-based solutions and the challenges of water : accelerating the transition to more sustainable cities, (C.Herzog,editor,T.Freitas,editor,G.Wiedman,edito) Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/95912 |
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| Knowledge and data gaps regarding appropriate and effective monitoring of NBS projects to evidence their proposed benefits. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, (2022). The vital role of nature-based solutions in a nature positive economy, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/307761 |
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| Considerable knowledge gaps remain in cities as regards the development of inclusive governance models engaging citizens and local businesses in the planning and stewardship of NBS. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, (2022). The vital role of nature-based solutions in a nature positive economy, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/307761 |
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| Firstly, knowledge gaps on impact measurement were identified in particular in relation to indicators for measuring impact of NBS on biodiversity and in comparison, with grey infrastructure solutions. Given the Small Medium Entreprises status of most Nature-Based Entreprises, a clear need was identified for simple, cost-effective, and widely accepted measurement approaches. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, (2022). The vital role of nature-based solutions in a nature positive economy, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/307761 |
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| Ecosystem restoration (marine ecosystems): further research and evidence on ecosystem service value for marine ecosystem restoration, and integration of this in the design of financing mechanisms for restoration. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, (2022). The vital role of nature-based solutions in a nature positive economy, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/307761 |
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| Green buildings: further research on how to increase impact on biodiversity through better design, cost-effective intensive greening techniques, and maintenance practices. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, (2022). The vital role of nature-based solutions in a nature positive economy, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/307761 |
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| Sustainable Forestry: clarify synergies and conflicts between NBS approaches to sustainable forestry and other concepts and policy approaches. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, (2022). The vital role of nature-based solutions in a nature positive economy, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/307761 |
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| NBS for Health and Wellbeing: address research gaps relating to specific nature-based interventions and randomised control trials to measure impact leading to improved integration and acceptance within the health sectors. | Desk Study | Institutional publication | European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, (2022). The vital role of nature-based solutions in a nature positive economy, Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/307761 |
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