Program
A brief overview of Nature-based Solutions
Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are approaches for the protection, restoration, or management of ecosystems that effectively address various societal challenges such as climate change, natural risk management, health, water supply, food security, and equity, while generating positive impacts socially, environmentally, economically, and for biodiversity.
Urban greening (tree planting, creation of green spaces, green façades and roofs, community gardens) is an example of Nature-based Solutions (NbS). These approaches help reduce urban heat islands, improve soil permeability, combat pollution, and promote social inclusion.
Nature-based Solutions (NbS) can also be used to combat erosion in coastal areas. For example, planting suitable species along the coast, such as marram grass, a plant resistant to sand accumulation with a long and dense root system, helps stabilize dune sand, which acts as a barrier against wind and marine erosion.
All these actions must benefit local biodiversity! Choosing suitable species and implementing actions at a sufficiently large scale are essential to establish viable Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in the long term.
An ambitious research program
The climate crisis and the decline of biodiversity are forcing our societies to reinvent themselves. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are approaches involving the protection, restoration, or management of ecosystems that effectively address a range of societal challenges, while generating positive impacts on the social, environmental, economic, and biodiversity fronts. Rooted in ecosystem functioning, NbS can complement, or even replace technological engineering solutions. They are attracting growing interest from a wide range of stakeholders, including local authorities and some private companies.
Co-led by CNRS and INRAE, the SOLU-BIOD National Research Program aims to promote scientific approaches that support the design, implementation, and evaluation of NbS. It also seeks to foster the emergence of a new economic sector with strong social and environmental benefits.
The SOLU-BIOD programme is funded as part of the France 2030 investment plan, with a budget of €44.2 million over a 9-year period (2023–2032). It is carried out in close collaboration with public research communities and a wide range of societal stakeholders.
The French government has assigned CNRS and INRAE the scientific leadership of this program, which is operated by the French National Research Agency (ANR).
The national research program is carried out in close collaboration with the national public research community and a wide range of societal stakeholders.
This program will tackle the barriers limiting the development of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in France by addressing three challenges:
- Organizational challenge: How can we structure the French scientific community working on Nature-based Solutions (NbS)?
- Scientific challenge: How to guide the design, management, and evaluation of NbS in the context of global change?
- Knowledge transfer challenge: How to maximize access to knowledge and expertise, and adapt the topic of NbS to university and professional training?
The program will focus in particular on four key scientific issues:
- The role of social processes in the success of Nature-based Solutions (NbS)
- The evaluation of NbS performance and the mechanisms enabling their scaling up
- Scenarios and models to anticipate NbS performance in the context of global change
- The role of genetic diversity and evolutionary potential for NbS at different scales
Organizational challenge
Structuring the French scientific community working on Nature-based Solutions (NbS)
While France hosts high-level research on biodiversity, the French scientific community is not yet well structured to meet the challenges of NbS. The goal of this program is therefore to structure and strengthen an innovative research community on NbS. This includes identifying scientists working on NbS and related topics, while fostering synergies within the research and innovation ecosystem across disciplines, territories, and ecosystems.
This organizational challenge also involves promoting the sharing of experiences and encouraging collaboration between academic and non-academic stakeholders.
Scientific challenge
Better understanding Nature-based Solutions (NbS) to guide their design, management, and evaluation in the context of global change
This knowledge challenge aims to support French research consortia in addressing four key scientific issues for the development of NbS:
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Each of these scientific challenges is supported by a dedicated expert group of 12 to 15 members, which works alongside the program to refine priority research questions and bring the community’s vision and expectations to the program’s governance.
The research questions will be explored through four case studies reflecting the main socio-ecosystems and types of NbS addressed by the program:
- NbS in protected areas
- NbS in coastal zones
- NbS in rural/agricultural regions
- NbS in urban areas
This challenge will rely on actions that promote bottom-up contributions from the French scientific community, complemented by top-down strategic actions led by the program team.
These will include:
- Two open calls for proposals (via ANR) to stimulate ambitious inter- and transdisciplinary collaborations addressing the four scientific challenges. Funded projects will need to focus on transformative change, using a systemic approach.
- The development of six Knowledge Hubs, each composed of expert groups and a postdoctoral researcher, tasked with exploring a specific NbS research issue without generating new primary data.
- Support for selected French research consortia responding to European “Horizon Europe” calls on the topic of NbS, through preparation meetings and networking activities prior to proposal submission.
- The establishment of international chairs to fill key gaps in the French scientific community related to essential expertise in the field of NbS.
- An “ANR Challenge”-type call to support pre-maturation actions for the design and implementation of NbS.
Knowledge transfer and training challenge
Maximizing access to knowledge and expertise, and adapting higher and professional education on Nature-based Solutions (NbS)
This challenge aims, on one hand, to facilitate access to scientific knowledge and expertise on NbS for all stakeholders, and on the other hand, to better train field practitioners and future researchers in NbS.
The goal is to strengthen the scientific foundations for the design and deployment of NbS in France by radically transforming how information is shared between researchers, academics, practitioners, and policymakers.