As a cross-sectoral concept, the successful implementation of NBS in urban space builds on a combined effort of different actors both inside and outside the municipal organisations, emphasising the importance of understanding the factors that will support or inhibit the effective coordination of these actors. The UNaLab Municipal Governance Guidelines explores a range of governance-related barriers inhibiting the effective integration of NBS in cities, and highlights a range of actions that can be taken to help overcome these barriers. It builds on knowledge developed around governance of NBS through the work in the UNaLab Front Runner cities, Eindhoven (NL), Tampere (FI) and Genova (IT) and other good practices relating to supportive governance structures and processes for NBS in cities. Explore the identified barriers and proposed areas of action to help overcome these below.
Governance Barriers
Lack of Knowledge and Awareness
Lack of knowledge and awareness was highlighted regularly as a key barrier to the uptake of NBS in cities.
Lack of Political Commitment
Political commitment is seen as an imperative to facilitate the increased uptake of NBS. A clear directive for building a more climate resilient city and making a departure from business-as-usual is a necessary perquisite for the effective uptake of NBS.
Organisation
How the municipality is structured and organised has been identified as a crucial factor determining the success of many sustainability or nature-based interventions. These themes are interdisciplinary in nature and thus require the cooperation of a range of actors.
Perceived Costs and Benefits and Financing of NBS
Attracting private capital investment in NBS can help to ensure the continuous implementation and mainstreaming of NBS. The intangible and public nature of the benefits delivered by NBS makes the developing of feasible business cases for NBS implementation difficult.
Socio-Environmental Justice and Land Use Trade-Offs
Any intervention in the urban space will have a range of intended and unintended social, environmental and economic consequences. Such impacts are highly context specific but some general tensions regarding NBS can be identified.
Learning Material
Governance Guidelines Executive Summary
Published report summarising all governance-related barriers and action fields on 60 pages.
Governance Actions Inspiration Cards
All governance actions in the form of individual inspiration cards for use in workshops or brainstorming sessions (available in English and Spanish).
Municipal Governance Guidelines
Full deliverable on the Municipal Governance Guidelines from the UNaLab project.
Governance Insights
In the UNaLab Consortium Webinars Series our researchers and cities gave insights into governance issues and actions. Click below to watch the recording.