In September, the University of Cordoba’s Isotta MacFadden represented IN-HABIT at a two-day event dedicated to upscaling nature-based solutions in policy and practice.

The event, organised by NetworkNature, was based on two keys principles: firstly, that nature-based solutions (NBS), if designed and implemented well, can produce a multitude of simultaneous benefits across areas from health and wellbeing to agriculture, energy production to economic development, and climate change to water management; and secondly, that mainstreaming nature-based solutions through agreed (quality) standards and best practices can help maximise the impact and uptake of these solutions.

The first day of the event was held in person at the Museum of Natural Sciences of Brussels in Belgium. Focusing on NBS and standards, the day offered participants the opportunity to learn more about the state-of-the-art developments in NBS practice and policy. Members of the nature-based solutions community and other interested stakeholders were invited to share and learn about the ways through which NBS can be upscaled through policy and practice, how different sectors can contribute, and the role of standards. The afternoon’s parallel sessions aimed to share the latest developments and success stories and to identify opportunities for strengthened engagements and partnerships for NBS, as well as providing a space for an interactive exchange of ideas.

The second day of the event was held online and focused on the importance of clustering projects to ensure knowledge-sharing, capacity building, and idea-sharing, as well as creating a community of practice – all vital elements in successfully upscaling nature-based solutions. IN-HABIT and its sister projects GoGreenRoutes, euPOLIS, and VARCITIES were introduced and outlined how they work together to create synergies and exchange knowledge. Opportunities for further collaboration with other EU projects were also discussed, and Isotta McFadden returned from the event with new synergistic avenues to explore and a set of tasks to carry out in cooperation with IN-HABIT’s sister projects.