Raising standards for stakeholder engagement in Nature-based Solutions: Navigating the why, when, who and how

Abstract

Working with people is inherent to Nature-Based Solutions (NbS). The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions (NbS) requires interventions to work with and for society, acknowledging and integrating stakeholder views in all aspects of NbS in landscapes. However, existing guidance on NbS does not fully reflect all the insights and guidance available from an extensive literature on stakeholder engagement, empowerment, participation and related concepts. This paper provides guidance on achieving stakeholder engagement in NbS, by using the literature to analyse the role of stakeholder engagement in eight NbS criteria of the IUCN Global Standard. Each criterion represents themes orienting engagement, briefly: (1) societal challenges, (2) design at scale, (3) biodiversity net-gain, (4) economic feasibility, (5) inclusive governance, (6) balancing trade-off (7) adaptive management and (8) sustainability and mainstreaming. We show it is imperative to clearly differentiate stakeholders and their differing roles in different aspects of NbS. Hence, for each criterion there should be: a clearly defined rationale (why), the different stakeholder groups (who), the stage of the project (when) and the appropriate pathways (how) by which stakeholders will be engaged. We conclude with a discussion on the implications of the framework for those planning, resourcing and enabling nature-based solutions. We emphasise stakeholder engagement as multidimensional, requiring reflexibility and attention to inclusivity, equity and transparency. We also highlight the wicked problems of stakeholder engagement, in terms of the need for political support, resource commitment and competence to make engagement in NbS fit-for-purpose.