NBSCLIMATE team has co-written NATMed’s first scientific publication “Evaluating the impact of Nature-based Solutions on the provision of water-related and water-dependent Ecosystem Services”, which is out now.
After months of work, and coinciding with the celebration of the halfway point of the NATMed project, the first scientific article of the project has been published, of many to come, in which Sara Peláez, Claudia Sánchez and Jesús Iglesias had the pleasure of collaborating.
The article is part of a special issue of the Nature-based Solutions Journal entitled “Nature-based solutions and ecological tools for a circular society”. The issue looks at how today’s linear management of resources, such as water, contributes to global problems and how the circular economy is a development model for the economy and society that can reduce environmental impact without increasing the consumption of virgin resources. NbS offer a suitable approach to this, as they contribute to environmental protection while providing multiple benefits.
In this respect, “Evaluating the impact of Nature-based Solutions on the provision of water-related and water-dependent Ecosystem Services” explores the development of a comprehensive monitoring framework for Nature-based Solutions that integrates the assessment of ecological, socio-economic and cultural aspects under the umbrella of the IUCN Global Standard for NbS. This framework has been applied to the five NATMed case studies in the Mediterranean region, allowing the effectiveness of the NbS developed to be assessed, subject to their specific local challenges and context.
The role of the IUCN Global Standard within the framework has proven to be a very useful tool, offering benefits such as providing robust guidance for future implementation and helping to maximize the positive impact of the intervention, contributing to sustainable water resources management in the Mediterranean and beyond.
Finally, we would like to thank and congratulate the Cartif team as coordinators of the article, and to the IZTECH team as co-authors as well, for their great work.
You can have a look at the article here:
This project has received funding from the European Union’s PRIMA Research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 2221.