At the German Nature Conservation Day (Deutscher Naturschutztag, DNT), Doris Knoblauch from Ecologic Institute presented the Urban Governance Atlas, developed as part of the EU-funded INTERLACE project. The collection highlights governance and policy instruments that can support cities in successfully implementing nature-based solutions.

Nature-based solutions (NbS) are increasingly recognised as important approaches to making cities more climate-resilient while strengthening biodiversity. Many successful examples – such as green infrastructure, river restoration, or sustainable stormwater management – have already been documented in the Urban Nature Atlas. But which policy and governance instruments help municipalities to actually implement these solutions?

This question was at the centre of a presentation by Doris Knoblauch (Ecologic Institute) at the German Nature Conservation Day (DNT). She introduced the Urban Governance Atlas, which was developed within the INTERLACE project. The collection provides an overview of governance and policy instruments that can support the implementation of nature-based solutions in cities. In her presentation, Doris Knoblauch highlighted selected examples from the atlas and discussed how these instruments can help embed nature-based solutions in local policy and planning processes.

The session “Nature-based solutions for biodiversity and climate adaptation”, moderated by Sandra Naumann (Berlin Senate Department for Urban Mobility, Transport, Climate Action and the Environment) and Svane Bender (Environmental Action Germany, DUH), was fully booked with more than 70 participants. Work on the Urban Governance Atlas at Ecologic Institute was coordinated by McKenna Davis and Natalia Burgos Cuevas.

The German Nature Conservation Day, which attracted around 1,600 participants – the largest in its history – offered further insights from research and practice within this session. A keynote by Prof. Dr Nadja Kabisch (Leibniz University Hannover) addressed the application, potential and limits of nature-based solutions. Additional presentations were given by Dr Ulrich Heink (Environmental and Nature Conservation Office Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, Berlin), Ferdinand Schmeller (City of Vienna), Yvonne Richter (City of Kronberg), Grit Rudas (Berlin Rainwater Agency), and the City of Łódź, sharing insights on innovative financing instruments for urban nature.