Why measure NBS performance?
In times of rapid urbanization and anthropogenic climate change, urban areas face an increasing number of extreme weather events and other environmental burdens such as water and air pollution. A selection of NBS to address the identified challenges and pressures should prove its impact and provide evidence of reaching the objectives, including monetary and environmental targets. Monitoring is one of the central factors determining the success of the NBS impact assessment as it provides quantitative and qualitative evidence of the impact generated by the NBS interventions.
City Performance Monitor, a tool developed in UNaLab, enables the continuous monitoring of NBS performance. It aims to facilitate the participatory planning process along the NBS co-creation process synthesising and presenting environmental and social indicators in a manner that can be used readily by a wide range of individuals, including citizens and non-expert users.
NBS monitoring enables decision-making
NBS monitoring involves a collection of measurements used for assessing the state of environment and subsequently the change that signifies either its degradation or restoration. Prior to monitoring, goals and data analysis methods must be well defined to ensure accurate monitoring and understanding of physical, chemical and biological variables and processes occurring in the studied environment. This enables the generation of evidence, which ultimately leads to evidence- and data-based decision making.
Many NBS interventions generate impact on local to sub-local scale. The NBS impact evaluation relies strongly on the adoption of quantitative and qualitative impact markers – the key performance indicators (KPIs). A set of KPIs serve as means for assessing the progress towards achieving the specific objectives identified in the co-creation phase of NBS implementation.
NBS monitoring involves a series of steps, which include identifying the KPIs, establishing the baseline or no-NBS assessment, identifying correct scale at which the NBS impact will be detectable and the appropriate data acquisition modes, and the evaluation framework, which will guide the impact assessment, either national or international.
Indicators of NBS performance grouped by 12 societal challenge areas
1. Climate Resilience
Climate Resilience challenge area addresses NBS effects on greenhouse gas emissions reduction via carbon sequestration, reduced energy consumption of buildings and restoration of wetland ecosystems to support carbon storage. It additionally considers NBS impact on temperature, including Urban Heat Island effect and heatwaves, human comfort, and evapotranspiration.
2. Water Management
Water Management challenge area address the NBS impacts on urban water cycle, including generating the additional capacity for floods by detention/retention and infiltration, additionally targeting the integrity of surface and groundwater quality and aquatic species richness - all pursuant to EU Water Framework Directive (Directive 2008/32/EC).
3. Natural and Climate Hazards
Natural and Climate Hazards challenge area focuses on the NBS effectiveness in disaster preparedness and effect on the risk components. It enables the analysis for preparation of the disaster risk reduction and resilience strategies further enhancing the disaster-risk informed development. This challenge areas further addresses environmental extremes related to floods and droughts, heatwaves, and their impact on individuals and communities.
4. Green Space Management
Urban green spaces provide multiple ecosystem services, and they target the provision of social and cultural benefits. Green Space Management challenge area addresses the NBS impacts and trade-offs on the accessibility, both as travel time and distance, and distribution of urban green spaces. It accounts for other aspects related to urban green spaces and the land use changes, such as pollen concentration and selected soil properties.
5. Biodiversity Enhancement
Biodiversity Enhancement challenge area presents indicators capturing the NBS effects on the biological variety in the environment. Supporting the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, this challenge area addresses the re-introduction and restoration of degraded ecosystems via indicators such as structural and functional connectivity of green and blue spaces and quantifying species diversity.
6. Air Quality
Air Quality challenge area addresses the NBS impacts and trade-offs on the ambient air quality, focusing on the ambient air pollutant concentration and thresholds. The challenge area further considers the related aspects, such as pollutant capture by vegetation and associated health aspects. The air pollutants targeted here include the common air pollutants, such as PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, CO, ground-level O3 and PAH (as benzo[a]pyrene), and the assessment methods range from modelling to direct measurements.
7. Place Regeneration
Place Regeneration challenge area focuses on the NBS effects on urbanisation and the restoration of people-nature links. It includes aspects such as reclamation of derelict land, environmental design, relationships between the blue-green spaces distribution and built infrastructure, and road networks. It considers related aspects such as cultural heritage and design for sense of place additionally embracing social cohesion and well-being.
8. Knowledge and Social Capacity Building for Sustainable Urban Transformation
Knowledge and Social Capacity Building for Sustainable Urban Transformation challenge area explores the ways NBS contribute to developing citizens' pro-environmental behaviour and awareness regarding urban nature and ecosystem services, and to educating citizens about sustainability. Education and awareness raising advance social and governmental transformation and behavioural changes.
9. Participatory Planning and Governance
Participatory Planning and Governance challenge area explores the collaborative processes inherent to the nature-based solutions approach. It considers the participatory processes, their openness, citizen engagement and participatory governance that contribute to social inclusiveness and consciousness of citizenship. The challenge area accounts for citizen involvement in public decision-making and contribution to changes in municipal rules and regulations for disaster risk resilience.
10. Social Justice and Social Cohesion
Social Justice and Social Cohesion challenge area explores the NBS contributions to building cohesive and inclusive societies bonded by trust and respect by enhancing collaboration. It focuses on diversity, including participation of under-represented groups, safety and availability, and equitable distribution of blue-green spaces.
11. Health and Wellbeing
Health and Wellbeing challenge area focuses on health aspects affected by the lifestyle (here, amount of exercise) and the ambient environmental conditions (heat, air quality and noise).
12. New Economic Opportunities and Green Jobs
New Economic Opportunities and Green Jobs considers the potential to create new economic opportunities and jobs in the green sector due to NBS implementation. It further explores related topics such as land and property value, subsidies and rates.
Contact Information
For more information, please contact:
Laura Wendling
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland