NaturTanken is participating in a new Nordic co-operation to disseminate and develop a common standard for nature-based solutions. This is a one-year project under the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Nature Programme.

Last week, the first online partner meeting was held to plan the activities for the coming weeks and months. The project aims to adapt the IUCN global standard for nature-based solutions to Nordic conditions and make it more usable for municipalities, landowners and other stakeholders.

The IUCN Global Standard will be translated and adapted into six Nordic languages: Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Faroese and Icelandic. The translated material will be integrated into a Nordic guide to using the IUCN standard to increase usability and make it more relevant to Nordic conditions.

The Nordic guide will focus on quality, impact and transparency – without compromising the global standard developed by IUCN.

The collaboration consists of GEON, NaturTanken, the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Demos Helsinki and the Centre for Nature-based Solutions at Aarhus University.

What are nature-based solutions?

Interest in Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) is growing both in Denmark and internationally, and the NbS concept is widely recognised for its potential to address societal challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss and sustainable resource management.

However, although NbS is becoming more and more accepted, the practical application of the concept is challenged and sometimes misunderstood, which can lead to greenwashing.

To ensure the concept is clearly understood, communicated and implemented, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has adopted the following definition of Nature-based Solutions:

“Actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits.”

Based on this definition, the IUCN has developed a global standard for NbS.

How is the IUCN standard applied?

The IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions (NbS) provides a framework for designing and verifying that a given NbS delivers the desired results in addressing one or more societal challenges.

The standard is designed to support project owners in applying, learning and continuously strengthening and improving the effectiveness, sustainability and adaptability of their nature-based solutions.

The standard is composed of eight criteria accompanied by a total of 28 indicators. For each indicator, the level of adherence is assessed according to a traffic light system, and justification and documentation are provided for each indicator in a special self-assessment tool developed by IUCN.