Document  presents a comprehensive overview of EU research activities in the field of NBS. It focuses on how NBS can help address the climate and biodiversity crises and highlights the importance of collaboration, knowledge sharing and capacity building for the successful implementation of these solutions.

Main themes and ideas

The document highlights the importance of NBS in addressing the climate and biodiversity crises. NBS are defined as:

"inspired and supported by nature, they are cost-effective, while providing environmental, social and economic benefits and helping to build resilience."

The document lists several key benefits of NBS, including:

• Increasing resilience to climate change: NBS help mitigate the impacts of climate change, such as floods, heat waves, and drought.
• Improving air quality: Green infrastructure in cities can absorb pollutants and improve air quality.
• Soil restoration: NBS supports the restoration of degraded land and improves its fertility.
• Promoting health and well-being: Access to green spaces has a positive impact on both physical and mental health.
• Creating new economic opportunities: NBS can stimulate growth in sectors such as ecotourism, green infrastructure, and ecosystem restoration.
• Sustainable urban transformation: NBS contribute to the development of greener and healthier cities.

EU-funded research projects

The paper presents a wide range of EU-funded research projects addressing the implementation of NBS in various settings, including:

• Urban areas: Projects such as CLEVER Cities, Grow Green and URBREATH focus on implementing NBS in cities to increase their resilience, improve quality of life and support biodiversity.
• Areas outside cities: Projects such as DRYvER (focusing on drylands), FutureMARES (marine and coastal ecosystems), and MountResilience (mountain ecosystems) address specific challenges associated with climate change and biodiversity in different ecosystems.
• Cross-sectional projects: Projects such as NetworkNature+ and BIODIVERSA+ serve as platforms for collaboration, knowledge sharing and capacity building in the field of NBS.

Important facts

The document presents interesting statistics on EU-funded projects in the field of NBS:

• 1,538 partners
• 79 countries
• Budget 755 million euros
• 88 projects