Within the European Commission’s Nature-Based Solutions Task Force 3: “Governance, Business Models and Financial Mechanisms”, EdiCitNet project lead Suhana E. Reddy was part of a joint publication which explores the different possibilities of financing nature-based solutions (NBS). NBS offer multiple solutions to urban challenges simultaneously, but realising funding for NBS remains a challenge. However, by collaborating and sharing knowledge through the EC Task Force, a set of EU projects has now laid important knowledge foundations, reviewing existing literature, and compiling empirical evidence of different financing approaches and the business models that underpinned them.
This paper presents the findings of these projects from a business model perspective to improve our understanding of the value propositions of NBS to support their mainstreaming. This collaboration provided comprehensive insights into collaborative work within a transdisciplinary group and working together with all members of the publication writing team in order to improve the scientific landscape and the view on NBS was a fruitful experience. Edible-NBS of course offer an added social value, when compared to non-edible NBS, while Edible City Solution Initiatives also play a crucial role in Nature-Based Solution business models. You can read the full text of the publication here.
