Nature-based solutions (NbS) are recognised as a key approach to address interconnected challenges such as biodiversity loss, climate change, and societal well-being. They contribute to major policy frameworks, including the EU Biodiversity Strategy, the EU Adaptation Strategy, the Bonn Challenge, and the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. Achieving these goals requires NbS to be implemented at large geographical scales and across diverse social, economic, and environmental contexts. However, scaling NbS raises important justice questions such as: who benefits, who bears potential costs, and how are trade-offs managed?

Research question and objectives of FairNature

The central question of the FairNature project is how nature-based solutions can be delivered at wide geographical scales in a just manner. The project aims to co-develop a framework that supports NbS practitioners at multiple governance levels in achieving just scaling that fosters transformative change, biodiversity protection, and societal well-being. 

Three main scientific objectives guide the research:

1. Diagnose and generate new knowledge on the justice implications of scaling NbS;
2. Identify conditions and formulate requirements for just transformative change; and
3. Assess biodiversity outcomes, societal values, governance arrangements, and financing mechanisms in specific NbS applications, comparing different scaling approaches.

Six European action cases

FairNature works with six NbS action cases across different European countries, reflecting diverse geographical and institutional settings along the full innovation chain, including private sector actors and funding mechanisms. In “Reflexive Labs", researchers collaborate with local communities, practitioners, policymakers, and stakeholders to co-create, test, and refine scaling approaches. Representatives of the action cases actively contribute to the design of the research framework, agenda, research questions, and methods. This participatory approach ensures that scientific analysis and practical experience inform each other.

A guide for just transformative change

A key output of the project will be the FairNature Guide, which synthesises practical experiences from the action cases and the results of co-created research. The guide will provide structured guidance on combining scaling approaches in ways that safeguard justice while promoting biodiversity protection and societal well-being. FairNature integrates multiple forms of knowledge, including scientific, practitioner, stakeholder, and user perspectives. Methodologically, the project applies thick descriptions, trade-off analysis, policy evaluation, scenario methods, interviews, and experiments to generate robust and practice-orientated insights.

Project overview

FairNature is a Biodiversa+ funded research project dedicated to enabling the just scaling of nature-based solutions. By linking transnational action cases with co-creative research and cross-project knowledge exchange, the project develops scientifically grounded and practice-relevant guidance for implementing NbS at scale.