Governance arrangements
Considering the number of policy areas and public authorities potentially involved in the deployment and financing of nature-based solutions (NbS), good governance is an essential enabling factor. The impacts of an NbS are spread through a system and influenced by decisions made by individual sectors. For example, the introduction of increased green space to manage urban flooding can reduce operational costs for the housing sector (through a reduction in energy use for cooling), and offset the negative environmental impacts of the transport sector (through a reduction in road runoff pollution). Different agencies are often not set up to provide the level of coordination needed for NbS as they tend to operate in sectoral silos, with their own vision, legal frameworks, planning documents, resources and procedures.
Key policy elements to be evaluated:
- Responsibilities for different aspects of NbS planning, implementation and maintenance
- Coordination mechanisms (horizontal and vertical)
Supportive policies
Clear mandates from the highest policy level have the potential to accelerate NbS uptake. Different sectoral policies can additionally influence the attractiveness of NbS. Policies relating to spatial planning and land use, biodiversity conservation, agriculture, water management, and health are key to the feasibility and appeal of implementing NbS, however the use of NbS are rarely explicitly encouraged in these policies. Worse, there may be directly conflicting interests between NbS and other policy objectives. For instance, many NbS are land consuming and there can be strong competition for land, particularly in urban or peri-urban areas.
Key policy elements to be evaluated:
- Clear mandate and support for NbS
- Coherence between sectoral policies, and mechanisms to address trade-offs
- Encouragement of NbS within infrastructure planning processes
- Methodologies in place for measuring benefits
- Inventory of existing natural capital/assets
Appropriate regulatory environment
Regulatory environments have a powerful influence on the feasibility of using NbS for adaptation to water risk. In general, the prevailing regulations and technical standards have been developed from grey infrastructures as the main, or only available, option to address given challenges, which can create bias towards the exclusive use of grey infrastructure.