| Course information | |
|---|---|
| Type | Specialisation deepening module |
| Timeline | March |
| Number of ECTS | 5 ECTS |
| Coordinator | Dr Elena Marie Enseñado and Charmae Pyl Wissink-Nercua |
| Methodology | Lectures and seminars, case study analyses, co-creation exercise, guided group work, field trips/excursions, independent research and writing |
Course description
Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) are systemic, place-based interventions that protect, restore, or sustainably manage natural and modified ecosystems to address interconnected societal challenges such as climate change, water management, and food insecurity, while supporting biodiversity and human well-being. Grounded in diverse value systems and knowledge traditions, NbS work through ecological processes and are shaped by specific social, ecological, and institutional contexts.
While NbS can generate environmental, social, and economic co-benefits, they are not inherently transformative or socially just. Their benefits and burdens are often unevenly distributed, and outcomes depend on how problems are framed, whose values are recognized, and who participates in decision-making. Their design and implementation raise critical questions related to valuation, trade-offs, governance, and justice across different actors and scales. NbS may produce uneven outcomes across places and social groups, including risks of maladaptation, exclusion, and unintended socio-spatial consequences. These risks underscore the need for context-sensitive and critically informed analysis of how NbS are framed, justified, and implemented in practice. Attention to power relations, institutional dynamics, and local conditions is essential to understanding both the potentials and limitations of NbS interventions.
Addressing these challenges requires integrated valuation approaches, inclusive and multi-level governance arrangements, meaningful participation and co-creation processes, and innovative mechanisms and models that support long-term implementation. Understanding how these elements interact across scales is essential for evaluating whether NbS contribute to equitable and transformative sustainability transitions in diverse socio-ecological and institutional contexts.
This course critically examines the conceptual, ecological, socio-political, governance, and financial dimensions of NbS. Students will engage with theoretical frameworks, empirical case studies, and applied tools to assess how NbS can be framed, valued, co-created, governed, financed, and implemented in ways that are socially just, ecologically sound, and institutionally feasible across a range of contexts and applications.
Learning objectives
The objective of this course is to enable students with the competencies to critically engage with NBS by understanding their conceptual foundations, analyzing their societal roles and trade-offs, designing inclusive co-creation processes, and evaluating governance and mainstreaming pathways toward transformative sustainability outcomes.
Specifically, the course aims to enable students to:
- Explain the conceptual foundations, value systems, and knowledge pluralism underpinning NBS, including the diverse ways of knowing and valuing nature
- Critically analyze the role of NbS in addressing societal challenges, identifying their benefits as well as trade-offs, limitations, and justice implications across different contexts and scales
- Design inclusive and context-sensitive co-creation processes, integrating diverse knowledge systems and stakeholder perspectives into NbS planning and implementation
- Evaluate governance arrangements and mainstreaming pathways, assessing how NbS are embedded in policy, institutions, and financial systems, and whether they contribute to transformative sustainability transitions