OPERANDUM partners in Science of the Total Environment

We are very proud to see the partners of the OPERANDUM project work hard to increase the acceptance of the implementation and operationalisation of nature-based solutions in Europe and beyond. This month another article has been published in Science of the Total Environment: ‘Towards an operationalisation of nature-based solutions for natural hazards.’

A few keypoints from their research:

  • Hydrometeorological hazards have a negative impact on both human life and the economy in Europe and worldwide.
  • There is an emerging need to improve coherence between disaster risk reduction and nature-based solutions in Europe.
  • The integration and cataloguing of existing and available nature-based solutions into policy databases is still at an early stage.
  • There is a need to improve the links between the research-phase and the stakeholders through more effective communication.
  • The practical implementation of nature-based solutions needs a holistic approach, taking the whole picture into account, with tools an instruments to enable and improve this.

Download the paper Towards an operationalisation of nature-based solutions for natural hazards here.

An illustration of key processes (i.e., co-planning, co-design and co-management) involved in the operationalisation of NBS.

As the authors say:

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are being promoted as adaptive measures against predicted increasing hydrometeorological hazards (HMHs), such as heatwaves and floods which have already caused significant loss of life and economic damage across the globe. However, the underpinning factors such as policy framework, end-users’ interests and participation for NBS design and operationalisation are yet to be established. We discuss the operationalisation and implementation processes of NBS by means of a novel concept of Open-Air Laboratories (OAL) for its wider acceptance.

Read more in the article as published by Science of the Total Environment.