How can we work with nature in our cities and regions?

Around 80 persons gathered to discuss various aspects of NbS mainly with a focus on the Öresund region.

Professor Kes McCormick, moderator for the event, began by starting from the location where the meeting was held, Nyhamnen, an area in transformation.

- We are in a time of change and poly-crises. NbS are important because they are multifunctional and open up new opportunities for discussion about the relationships between societal development, climate and nature, said Kes.

He hoped that the day would create opportunities for conversations, sparking collaborative ideas, and contribute to the momentum for nature-based solutions in the Öresund region and beyond.

Lina Berglund-Snodgrass, the director of the SLU Think tank Movium, described how the collaboration between Movium and the network has grown and revitalized landscape areas through innovation and interdisciplinarity.

- NbS is a driver for new solutions in urban areas. NbS offers great opportunities to value nature in cities in new ways, but we must bring along SLU’s experiences from landscape architecture, green infrastructure planning, and multifunctionality on this journey, said Lina.

After her, Ludwig Wahlund Sonesson, climate adaptation strategist in the city of Malmö, spoke about the work on the transformation of Nyhamnen. He said that the ferry terminal where the meeting was held was originally supposed to be demolished but will now remain for at least another ten years. He also described the work of trying to bring nature into an environment that largely consists of stone, asphalt and concrete.

- We are good at building grey things. We have been doing that for a long time. But now we want to bring in more nature, and I hope that today's discussions can take that work further, said Ludwig.

Ideals and reality

He also addressed the differences between ideals and reality. Researchers can often think freely and come up with ideas, while city planners have to start from a budget and deal with realities. The goal of the meeting was to find initiatives where ideals and reality can meet. He described Malmö City's ambition for 3-30-300 and how, through collaboration with SLU in the 3-30-300+ project, they want to broaden the concept to also include more vegetation than trees. The goal is to create a green city that contributes to the health and well-being of Malmö residents and that can lower temperatures during heat waves, delay water during torrential rains and promote biodiversity.

History and politics

The invited keynote speaker for the summit was Martin Grisel from the European Urban Knowledge Network, EUKN. He gave a historical background to the development of NbS since the concept emerged in 2002 but noted that the idea of working with nature in urban planning has existed for a long time. Martin Grisel believed that NbS should be integrated into all community planning to show the consequences of different interventions. He also addressed the important connection between indigenous peoples and NbS and said that a lot of research is being done on the relationship between health and green spaces.

- Today, work on NbS is threatened due to political tensions, even though many are aware of the importance of creating greener cities. Both researchers and politicians need to fight for the importance of NbS, said Martin Grisel He also reviewed the EU regulations in the area.

• EU Green Deal 
• EU Biodiversity Strategy 
• EU Climate Law 
• EU Climate Adaptation Strategy 
• EU Nature Restoration Law 

During the subsequent question and answer session, the problem of lack of knowledge among many actors was raised, and that goes hand in hand with the lack of money for implementing the NbS.

Panel discussion

After an energizing coffee break, it was time for a panel discussion led by Kes McCormick. The discussion was based on four questions 

1. When talking about nature-based “solutions” what “problems” are we solving and for whom?
2. Tensions and challenges for NbS? What is blocking or obstructing the implementation of NbS? 
3. Synergies and opportunities for NbS? How to combine goals and ambitions for NbS?
4. Future projects or initiatives for NbS and pathways in the Öresund region? 

Based on the questions, the panelists Lovisa Lagerblad from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Nikolai Friberg, a freshwater ecologist from Aarhus University, Johanna Alkan Olsson, an ecologist from Lund University, and Lykke Leonardsen, who has worked with climate adaptation plans in Copenhagen, discussed, among other things, the positive aspects of the multifunctionality of NbS, the importance of not forgetting the contribution of NbS to biodiversity, the lack of interdisciplinary knowledge within education systems, conflicts of interest that can arise in political contexts, and the Öresund Region's opportunities to share knowledge with each other and others.

Kes McCormick used an example to describe how climate change can quickly change people's attitudes towards nature. In Australia, the extreme heat has changed public opinion regarding the choice between parking spaces and trees.

Urban forest

Then it was time for a guided tour through a new urban microforest that had been developed just outside the old ferry terminal on the quay in Nyhamnen.

Patrick Bellan from Malmö City who was responsible for the process of choosing the plants and soil guided through the urban forest that also functions as a laboratory for different soil compositions and imported species of mainly pine and cypress from different parts of the world. The idea is to both create greenery in the area but also see which of the species thrive in the cold Scandinavian climate in order to possibly use them in several planning contexts in the future.

Courage a key issue

The final review of group discussions based on various issues concluded, among other things, that there was a lack of evaluations of NbS. The importance of courage, both among researchers to present NbS to politicians and among politicians to pursue the issue, was also highlighted. That the nexus between politics, research and practice needs to be strengthened to explain what NbS can contribute and create different scenarios was also a clear request.

Many agreed that one difference between research and practice is that research should often be more general, while practice must solve problems in a specific context. 

Budget is often a limiting factor for both practice and research, and research can lead to expensive solutions that do not fall within a given budget.

Therefore, it is important that researchers think about how their research will be used and that there is support for collaborations between practitioners and researchers, both within funding agencies, universities and municipalities.

Several people mentioned that there is a lack of platforms to spread the good examples within NbS in the Öresund region and that the coastal perspective is something that connects the region. Collaboration within water management was also desired and if students within the region could be more involved in the work it would be great.

- It has been very interesting to hear how important it is to communicate with policy makers, said Martin Gisel in his concluding remark.

- We believe this day, initiated by the network for nature-based solutions, has been fantastic and truly shows the opportunities that lie ahead. By joining forces, we can strengthen the work on NbS and create real impact. This is only the beginning of an exciting collaboration, both within SLU and with universities and stakeholders in the Öresund region, concluded Lina Berglund-Snodgrass from Movium

Kes McCormick thanked for the fruitful discussions.

- Thanks to all the participants, our keynote speaker and panellists as well as the great collaboration between SLU, the City of Malmö and Movium. We look forwards to further collaborative activities in the near future.

Text and photo: Malin Åberg Aas