Study #20

Figure: NbS typology across landform and landcover categories: Generic actions and examples of specific actions.

What can we learn from science? - when nature pays off

In 2025, an international team of scientists led by Julian Eduardo Lozano and Doan Nainggolan at Aarhus University published a groundbreaking study in Nature-Based Solutions exploring how nature-based solutions (NbS) truly work.

Their research maps NbS across landscapes - from forests and farms to cities and coastlines - revealing that restoring nature does far more than protect biodiversity or boost climate resilience. It delivers measurable environmental, social, and economic benefits.

By improving air and water quality, reducing disaster risks, enhancing health and social inclusion, and supporting jobs and sustainable food systems, NbS create real value for communities. Importantly, the authors connect these outcomes to established economic tools such as cost–benefit analysis, ecosystem service valuation, and willingness-to-pay methods.

When we understand the ecological processes behind NbS and translate them into economic metrics, we gain powerful evidence to guide smarter policies and investments - proving that working with nature is both a climate solution and a strategic development choice.

Lozano, J. E., Nainggolan, D., Kofler, V., Kernitzkyi, M., Staccione, A., Bidoli, C., Mysiak, J., & Zandersen, M. (2025). Nature-based solutions: typologies, ecological processes and benefit valuation approaches across landscapes. Nature-Based Solutions, 8, 100268.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbsj.2025.100268