Unlocking Nature-based Solutions: Building Enabling Environments

Abstract

As communities across the globe face the intensifying triple planetary crisis, Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have emerged as a cross-cutting framework to address societal challenges, while simultaneously benefiting human well-being and biodiversity. The adoption of UNEA Resolution 5/5 in 2022 established the first multilaterally agreed definition for NbS, marking a pivotal milestone in a period of exponential growth in research, implementation, and political commitments. Yet a significant gap persists between ambition and action. This systematic assessment consolidates evidence-based insights on governance, finance and social-ecological integration. It identifies actionable pathways to upscale high-integrity NbS and provides a roadmap for policy makers to move beyond isolated pilot interventions toward systemic implementation, ensuring that NbS are effectively mainstreamed into policies, while safeguarding the rights and leadership of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.