Unpacking the politics of Nature-based Solutions governance: Making space for transformative change

Abstract

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have gained global attention for their transformative potential to simultaneously address biodiversity loss, climate change, and human well-being. However, there are concerns that dominant framings reinforce vested interests, marginalise alternative perspectives, and lead to persistent patterns of inequality and injustice. While participatory governance of NbS is widely acclaimed to support more equitable and ‘just’ outcomes, it is unclear to what extent the necessary changes can occur within dominant framings and approaches. To address this gap, this paper foregrounds the messy, contested, and discontinuous politics of sustainability transformations to explore how different framings influence the transformative potential of NbS. Drawing from interviews and a survey with NbS practitioners and policy makers in the UK, we critically unpack the interplay between techno-scientific and market-oriented approaches, risk and uncertainty, and participatory governance processes in shaping transformative NbS. Our findings demonstrate that, despite numerous efforts to rethink and reframe NbS, there remains a need to make space for different conceptualisations, practices, and alternative approaches to transformation. We suggest that this requires transcending dominant techno-market framings that demand certainty and control over sustainability outcomes, and caution against “democracy washing” through NbS that perpetuates superficial participation and unequal power relations. These debates indicate that transformational NbS will require an explicit recognition of these power inequalities and a commitment to cultivate and open up - rather than control and close down - alternative perspectives, pathways, and possibilities that foster justice and well-being for both humans and nature.