Evaluating the Impact of Nature-based Solutions

This Handbook aims to provide decision-makers with a comprehensive NBS impact assessment framework, and a robust set of indicators and methodologies to assess impacts of nature-based solutions across 12 societal challenge areas: Climate Resilience; Water Management; Natural and Climate Hazards; Green Space Management; Biodiversity; Air Quality; Place Regeneration; Knowledge and Social Capacity Building for Sustainable Urban Transformation; Participatory Planning and Governance; Social Justice and Social Cohesion; Health and Well-being; New Economic Opportunities and Green Jobs. The handbook is designed to be relevant for NBS implemented across a wide geographic area and at a multitude of scales.

Indicators have been developed collaboratively by representatives of 17 individual EU-funded NBS projects and collaborating institutions such as the EEA and JRC, as part of the European Taskforce for NBS Impact Assessment, with the four-fold objective of: serving as a reference for relevant EU policies and activities; orienting urban practitioners in developing robust impact evaluation frameworks for nature-based solutions at different scales; expanding upon the pioneering work of the EKLIPSE framework by providing a comprehensive set of indicators and methodologies; and building the European evidence base regarding NBS impacts. They reflect the state of the art in current scientific research on impacts of nature-based solutions and valid and standardized methods of assessment, as well as the state of play in urban implementation of evaluation frameworks. Additional detailed information on the indicators can be found in the handbook's Appendix of Methods.