NetworkNature: Upscaling Nature-based solutions in policy and practice

The NetworkNature Annual Event will be held back-to-back the NBS Hubs Meeting (26th September) and the NetworkNature Taskforces Cluster Meeting (28th September), in Brussels. Participation to these events is open for selected groups and registration is possible through this page.

Nature-based solutions (NBS), if designed and implemented well, can produce a multitude of benefits simultaneously, including for health and wellbeing, agriculture, water, food and energy production, climate change, economic development, and more. Mainstreaming these solutions through agreed (quality) standards and best practices can help maximise the impact and uptake of nature-based solutions.

The event will focus on the Network Nature semester theme “Nature-based solutions and Standards”, to ensure the quality, effectiveness and scale of implementation that helps deliver the European Green Deal and the challenges related to biodiversity, climate change and socio-economic development.

Exchange of knowledge, capacity building and dialogue across stakeholders and sectors is key to developing joint action for upscaling NBS. NetworkNature hosts an annual event to take stock of achievements across EU-funded projects (mainly H2020, Horizon Europe) and provide the opportunity to learn more about the state-of-the art developments in NBS evidence, practice and policy.

NetworkNature invites the nature-based solutions community and other interested stakeholders from all target groups, including policy makers, scientific experts, civil society as well as investors and financing institutions, infrastructure planners and builders, landowners and natural resource managers to share and learn about the ways through which nature-based solutions can be upscaled, through policy and practice, how different sectors can contribute, and the role of standards.

The parallel sessions in the afternoon will provide space for an interactive exchange on developing standard(s) around NBS, quality criteria and best practices for integrating NBS more effectively in policy and practice. The sessions will feature presentations, capacity building and idea sharing by the NBS community of practice, and will build on the results of Horizon 2020 NBS projects and involve the NetworkNature Stakeholder Advisory Board. The aim of these sessions is to learn about the latest developments and success stories in upscaling NBS in policy and practice and to identify opportunities for strengthened engagements and partnerships for NBS.

The event will be held in-person, at the Museum of Natural Sciences of Brussels, Belgium.

Draft Agenda

9.30 – 9.40 Welcome & introduction - Moderator

9.40 – 10.00 NetworkNature: achievements and plans for the future - Bettina Wilk (ICLEI) & Susanna Gionfra (IUCN)

10.00 – 10.10 Interactive session - Moderator

10.10 – 10.30 Driving NBS standards and quality - Efren Feliu & Dora Almassy (NetworkNature Semester Theme’s experts)

10.30 – 10.40 Q&A

10.40 – 11.00 Towards the next EU roadmap for R&I on NBS: overview of the landscape and knowledge gaps - Gilles Doignon (DG Research & Innovation) & Frederic Lamaitre (Biodiversa+)

11.00 – 11.15 Q&A

11.15 – 11.35 Coffee break

11.35 – 12.45 Panel: Joining forces towards a successful implementation of the Nature Restoration Law - Laura Wendling (VTT & UNaLaB), Martin Grisel (EUKN), Yann Verstraeten (Business @Biodiversity Platform), Luisa Samarelli (European Commission, DG Environment), speaker tbc (ICLEI)

12.45 – 13.10 Panel: European NBS Hubs - Monica Nemeth (Hungary Hub), Leonard Sandin (Nordic Region Hub), Americo Mateus (Portugal Hub)

13.10 – 13.20 Closing of morning session - Moderator & Alice Reil (ICLEI)

13.20 – 14.20 Lunch Break

14.20 – 14.30 Introduction to parallel sessions

14.30 – 16.00 Parallel sessions (titles might change):

• Nature based solutions: Exploring the role of Landscape Architecture in policy and practice (led by IFLA Europe)

• Informing and supporting policy whilst ensuring the lasting legacy of NBS projects (leb by UNaLab)

• The involvement of SMEs in developing and supplying impactful nature-based solutions (led by Steibeis s2i)

• Towards a European R&I Roadmap for NBS (led by Biodiversa+)

16.00 – 16.30 Coffee break

16.30 – 17.05 Reporting back from the parallel sessions

17.05 – 17.15 Closing remarks by the European Commission - Representative of DG Environment TBC

17.15 – 17.30 Closing remarks - IUCN/ICLEI

18.00 – 20.00 Drinks reception