Economic enabling conditions for scaling of Nature Based Solutions

The paper (ETC-CA Technical Paper 3/23) analyses scaling aspects for Nature Based solutions (NBS) focusing on the economic and social characteristics of their implementation.

The analysis is based on a discussion of key concepts related to the social and economic characteristics of NBS and applies this lens of interpretation to study how these aspects roll out in a selection of case studies previously presented in two technical papers, published in 2021 and 2022: the first of these papers by Veerkamp et al. (2021) had developed a framework for NBS assessments building on key success factors and limitations and applied it to a range of different European NBS case studies. The second paper by Martire et al. (2022) provided a framing of the concept of scaling for NBS and examined a small selection of the previous case studies on the background of the related framework.

The analysis provides some insights into the socio-economic factors that determine the scaling potential of NBS. Among these, the distribution of costs and benefits among private, public actors, and society as a whole, appears as a key determinant. This distribution determine whether and under which conditions private and/or public investments can be made available to implement interventions, and to cover their maintenance and monitoring costs.