Nature Based Solutions and Urban Governance (NATURGO)

Moving towards the systematic integration of nature-based solutions (NBS) into the water landscape and infrastructure of cities will require a reorientation of urban governance at the strategic level. Strategies will need to be oriented by a long-term vision of urban nature and its benefits for all in the water sector; having key elements of a strategy in place; and a clear sense of how transformation can be enabled. The NATURGO (NATure Based Solutions and URban Water GOvernance) project will improve our understanding of how the conditions of NBS are currently reflected in the criteria, structures, processes, and practices of strategy building in urban water governance and how they can be advanced. Equipped with a thorough understanding of collaborative planning and governance, water management and NBS strategy baselines, we will carry out strategic research by engaging with municipal decision-makers and stakeholders to build future-oriented water management strategies that integrate NBS implementation pathways in specific sites of partner cities. We will use advanced scenario building methods to establish a better understanding of how long-term goals, targets, impacts, costs, and other factors are reflected in water related NBS strategy formulation. Going beyond the details of specific cases, NATURGO will analyse how key structural and procedural aspects of governance can enable collaborative and effective NBS planning, implementation and maintenance in the urban water sector.