UNaLab Buddies Webinar #8: Monitoring & evaluation of nature-based solutions

The 8th UNaLab Buddy System webinar was organised on 23rd November 2021 as a joint public online event between the UNaLab and Connecting Nature projects. The webinar was dedicated to the topic of monitoring and evaluation of nature-based solutions (NBS), with the aim to increase the knowledge on NBS impact assessment of cities and stakeholders involved in the implementation of NBS.

The impact assessment of implemented NBS is still considered a challenging topic, due to the lack of scientific data related to measuring the effectiveness of this type of solutions. Therefore, UNaLab Project Coordinator, Laura Wendling, and Adina Claudia Dumitru, Lead Researcher in the Connecting Nature project, presented the work carried out in the development of the EU NSB Impact Assessment Handbook. The joint presentation gave an overview of a framework for monitoring and evaluation, including more than 400 indicators of impact and practical methodologies.

During the webinar, the speakers dived deeper into some key topics related to the monitoring and evaluation of NBS, while the fruitful exchange of questions and answers provided some further insights.

The main points of discussion were:

• Key societal challenges addressed by nature-based solutions
• The definition of a causal map indicators and outcome synergies
• Mapping the theory of change for performance assessment
• Recommended and additional indicators to measure NBS performance and impact
• Differences between the EU NBS Impact Assessment Handbook’s indicators and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) indicators
• Generate a tailored portfolio of indicators

Watch the webinar recording here if you are interested in learning more on this topic. If you are interested in knowing more about the webinar, feel free to get in touch!

SPEAKERS:

Adina Claudia Dumitru, Ph.D.,  Director of Specialization Campus in Sustainability Research (University A Coruña, Spain), Lead researcher in Connecting Nature

Laura Wendling, Ph.D, Research Team Leader, NBS, (VTT), UNaLab Project Coordinator