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This article explores general concepts related to the diffusion of innovations theory (DoI) and its use regarding the adoption of nature-based solutions, specifically green roofs, in urban areas by private house/property owners in the city of Eindhoven (Netherlands). Given the gap in knowledge on the potential for the adoption of green roofs by private house/property owners as well as barriers and enablers to their implementation from the DoI perspective, we used a model for predicting the adoption of innovations (ADOPT). Results show that the predicted peak adoption level is 3% and that the time to peak adoption level is 17 years. However, the level of adoption can be significantly enhanced by increasing profit benefit (i.e., cost savings) in the years that they are used (+19 percent points adoption), reducing risk exposure (+17 percent points adoption), and improving ease and convenience (+15 percent points adoption), while the time to peak adoption level can be reduced by enhancing relevant and existing skills and knowledge (−3 years), simplifying trialability and innovation complexity (−2 years), and increasing observability (−1 year). Hence, key factors affecting the adoption of green roofs by private house/property owners have been identified, contributing to the formulation of urban climate change adoption strategies.

Worldwide, national governments and private organizations are increasingly investing in Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) to foster both human well-being and biodiversity while achieving climate and environmental targets. Yet, investments in NBS remain uncoordinated among planning levels, their co-benefits underestimated, and their effectiveness undermined. This study aims to provide a spatially explicit approach to optimize the budget allocation for NBS implementation across Italian urban areas while maximizing their effectiveness in terms of environmental health. We explored three different NBS implementation scenarios oriented to (i) maximize the Ecosystem Services supply of NBS (Scenario BP), (ii) minimize costs of NBS (Scenario LC), and (iii) maximize Ecosystem Services supply of NBS at the lowest cost (Scenario CP). Once selected, we prioritized their allocation through the territory following an environmental risk index for population, and we explored the relationship between costs and effectiveness for the three scenarios. The implementation of Scenario BP costs EUR 777 billion while showing 31 billion of effectiveness. Scenario LC costs 70% less than scenario BP (EUR 206 billion) while losing 70% of its effectiveness. Scenario CP costs 60% less than Scenario BP (EUR 301 billion), offering just 20% less effectiveness. Our results show that employing the risk index for NBS allocation would allow for reducing the surface of interventions by saving 67% of the budget in the three scenarios with a negligible loss in terms of return for human health. The here-proposed approach can guide the national funds’ allocation system, improving its cost-effectiveness and equitableness.

Water scarcity and security drive attention to water reuse in policy and business. However, water reuse may generate new water loops and challenge water governance with new and different types of water, risks, involved actors, and responsibilities. These challenges demand robust institutional arrangements related to water governance. This article assesses the institutional arrangements associated with four case studies in Spain, Italy, Croatia, and Israel. The findings reveal that the more diverse the water uses and users, the more challenges and risks, particularly those associated with institutional arrangements such as quality standards, sanctions, and conflict prevention, are likely to emerge. The weaknesses of governance models and regulations to deal with changes, uncertainties, and public resistance call for special attention to the design of the institutional arrangements before the adoption. Independent of the type of technology adopted, governance may be improved by ensuring internal and external water monitoring; integrating water management with spatial concerns; improving training, expert engagement, and civil society awareness; and reducing water reuse costs. In addition, alternative models that guarantee the efficiency of governance in attaining objectives and assuring the participation of new water users in the management of water reuse loops may also improve governance.

Over the last decade, the potential of nature-based solutions (NBS) has been recognized to support climate change adaptation, by promoting sustainable urban planning. Nevertheless, a wider uptake of such solutions in urban areas faces different challenges and barriers. A comprehensive mapping of available NBS impact assessment methods could help to accelerate this process. There is, however, a lack of comprehensive systematization of economic analysis. This research aims to provide an overview of NBS impact evaluations by assessing how the scientific literature integrates such economic analysis into urban planning adaptation. A systematic review approach has been used to discuss the role of NBS in climate change adaptation. This review presents two main stages. Firstly, it identifies the biophysical–economic assessment of NBS adaptation measures to reduce urban flood extremes in coastal cities. Secondly, the NBS approaches were categorized based on the biophysical benefits (in terms of flood-risk reduction) related to each specific solution and the subsequent economic evaluation of such implementations. This research review revealed a low-level gap of integration between climate change issues and NBS analysis (i.e., it is commonly used as background condition). Most publications provide NBS biophysical impacts assessment, without combining these results with economic evaluation of the flood damages to finally achieve the avoided cost due to the implementation of such solutions. This work shows the growing interest on further research to develop spatially integrated environmental–economic assessment of NBS implementation, by highlighting the needs and opportunities of a trans-disciplinary approach to support policy-making in the framework of urban climate change adaptation.

In deze studie hebben we de normkosten voor grondverwerving en inrichting van natuur geactualiseerd. De grondverwervingskosten zijn de kosten voor het verwerven van over het algemeen landbouwgrond voor natuur. De gemiddelde agrarische grondprijs die hiervoor wordt betaald, is tussen 2012 en 2021 gestegen van € 46.900 naar € 69.400 per hectare, met grote verschillen tussen en binnen provincies. Als het dwingend instrumentarium word tingezet of als grond in der minne wordt verworven met volledige schadeloosstelling, liggen de kosten voor verwerving 30-40% hoger dan de agrarische grondprijs. Voor het inrichten van nieuwe natuur hebben we bestaande normkosten per hectare per natuurbeheertype geactualiseerd middels indexering met de inputprijsindex voor grond-, water- en wegenbouwprojecten (GWW). De directe inrichtingskosten liggen tussen de € 1.500 en ruim € 80.000 per hectare (exclusief btw), afhankelijk van het natuurbeheertype. Voor andere maatregelen, zoals structurele systeemherstelmaatregelen en hydrologische maatregelen, hebben we geen actuele normkosten kunnen achterhalen.---This study updates the standard costs for land acquisition and conversion to new nature. The land acquisition costs are the costs of acquiring mostly agricultural land for conversion to nature. Between 2012 and 2021, the average price paid for agricultural land rose from €46,900 to €69,400 per hectare, with large differences between and within the provinces. If coercive policy instruments are used or if land is acquired by mutual agreement with full compensation, the costs of acquisition are 30–40% higher than the agricultural land price. For conversion of acquired land to nature, we updated the existing standard costs per hectare per habitat type by indexing the costs using the input price index for land, water and road construction projects. The direct costs of conversion are from €1,500 to more than €80,000 per hectare (excl. VAT), depending on the intended habitat type. For other measure

Global climate change and growing urbanization pose a threat to both natural and urban ecosystems. In these, one of the most impacted elements is water, which is responsible for a large variety of ecosystem services and benefits to society. Mathematical models can be used to simulate the implementation of Nature-Based Solutions (NBSs), thus helping to quantify these issues in a practical and efficient manner. This paper presents a rapid review of literature in which the effects of NBS on water quality were assessed with the help of modelling methods. It was found that only 14 papers deal with the topic in regard to NBSs. Most of these papers were published in European countries, using Nitrogen and/or Phosphorus as the studied water quality indicators and focusing predominantly on wetlands. The literature suggests that NBS can positively impact surface water quality, even under future climate conditions, while being a justified investment from an economic standpoint. It is suggested that more information is required in order to expand the evidence base on the effectiveness of NBS for water quality improvement as well as to develop better and more standardized methods to model NBS impacts on water quality.

European countries recently prepared recovery and resilience plans (RRPs) to recover from the pandemic crisis and reach climate neutrality. Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) are recognized as crucial drivers to fostering climate transition while addressing other challenges. Accordingly, RRPs offer the opportunity to promote the adoption of NBS. This article assesses the NBS embeddedness in the policy discourse of Italian and Portuguese RRPs and how they are considered to meet climate–and related environmental–targets. We conducted a discourse analysis based on two steps, (i) a quantitative analysis to classify different nature-related terms into four categories—biophysical elements, general environmental concepts, threats and challenges, and NBS—and estimate their frequency in the text; (ii) a qualitative analysis to understand the relationship between the categories of challenges and NBS as well as the dedicated investments. The results show that NBS are barely mentioned, with a frequency in the texts for the NBS category of 0.04% and 0.01%, respectively, in Italian and Portuguese RRPs. Narratives are mainly built around general concepts such as resilience and sustainability with nature scarcely considered as an ex novo solution to meet challenges. Notwithstanding, Italy invests 330 M in the implementation of urban forests, while in Portugal, no specific NBS interventions have been considered so far. To date, both countries are primarily orienting the climate transition toward reducing emissions instead of combining these measures with multifunctional NBS to address environmental and socio-economic challenges.

Through an in-depth analysis of EU and Dutch governmental policy documents and scientific papers, this study identifies three main knowledge gaps for halving the ecological footprint of Dutch consumption by 2050: (1) national and EU policies do mention, though not explicitly, the relationship between circular economy (CE) and biodiversity – indicating a potential lack of knowledge and action perspective; (2) that the entire set of footprint indicators (footprint family) is essential for measuring the effects of CE on biodiversity; and (3) research on CE footprints and biodiversity is currently mainly focused on the energy and food sectors while sectors, such as mining, manufacturing and construction are the focus of many CE policies., In deze studie worden kennishiaten verkend voor het halveren van de ecologische voetafdruk van de Nederlandse consumptie in 2050. Op basis van een analyse van beleidsdocumenten en wetenschappelijke literatuur zijn de volgende hiaten onderscheiden: (1) in nationaal en EU-beleid wordt de relatie tussen circulaire economie (CE) en biodiversiteit wel genoemd, zij het niet expliciet - wat duidt op een mogelijk gebrek aan kennis en handelingsperspectief; (2) dat de gehele set voetafdrukindicatoren (footprint family) essentieel is voor het meten van de effecten van CE op biodiversiteit; en (3) onderzoek naar CE-voetafdrukken en biodiversiteit momenteel vooral gericht is op de energie- en voedselsector, terwijl sectoren als mijnbouw, industrie en bouw de focus zijn van veel CE-beleid.