The FRB in action
Gouvernance, Société
Project ongoing since 2026
KH APPROPRIATION
How are Nature-based Solutions appropriated by actors?
The concept “Nature-based Solutions” (NbS) which emerged in the 2010s, has enjoyed resounding success both internationally and in France. It is gradually institutionalizing across various sectors of public policy and at different levels, and is used by a wide range of stakeholders, from local governments to large private corporations. The few existing studies examining the use of this term tend to conclude that stakeholders project different objectives and characteristics behind the same concept.
Therefore, the aim of the Knowledge Hub Appropriation is to identify the various public and private players who are appropriating the concept of NbS, and to analyze how this appropriation is taking place in practice. In other words, how does NbS permeate the political, legal, scientific and social spheres, at all scales? What meanings does the concept take on in different institutions, social groups and environments? The aim is to identify the criteria used to qualify NbS, the discourse used by the actors and institutions that mobilize the concept, and the place given to biodiversity and nature in projects claiming NbS concept.
The diversity of players involved in NbS means that there are many different approaches to key issues such as the development and application of a regulatory framework, balancing biodiversity and social benefits, and building robust multi-stakeholder partnerships to support NbS. We will thus need to look at the tensions or productivity behind the soft consensus: do these differentiated meanings unite stakeholders around NbS or, on the contrary, do they create tensions and opposition? How do NbS play out in practice on the ground? Depending on the local context, the aim is to examine the governance of NbS, the links between NbS in urban and rural areas, and the implementation of NbS that are not even named as such.
The KH Appropriation will also look at how NbS are appropriated by scientists according to their research topics. In this regard, we will study scientific production at European level and question the way in which scientists define NbS in funded research project .
Photography credit : Guerrin 2023 (Yolo Bypass, Californie)
The project
The Appropriation project belongs to the PC03 ‘Knowledge Hubs‘, driven by the Montpellier University within the framework of the French National Research Program (PEPR) SOLU-BIOD.
The researchers
Principal investigators
Joana GUERRIN – Inrae, UMR G-EAU (France) ;
Isabelle MICHALLET – University of Rennes (France).
ouvrir/fermer
Participants
The Appropriation project brings together researchers in social sciences, interested in analysing how the concept of Nature-based Solutions is being adopted, and reinterpreted by stakeholders at multiple levels.
Learn more about the Knowledge Hubs of the PEPR SOLU-BIOD
The PEPR SOLU-BIOD is funded by the France 2030 investment plan, operated by the ANR and led by INRAE and CNRS. The program’s actions take the form of targeted projects, implemented by PEPR partners, and calls for projects, implemented by the ANR.
As a partner of the PEPR SOLU-BIOD, the University of Montpellier (UM) leads and implements Targeted Project 3 (PC03) “Knowledge Hubs,” with a budget of €1,800,000 over 60 months, from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2030. PC03 aims to create five Knowledge Hubs – working groups addressing specific themes of SOLU-BIOD. These Knowledge Hubs, each composed of around fifteen national and international experts, will begin their work between 2025 and 2026 for a duration of three years.
The Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB) is a platform linking scientific stakeholders and societal actors on biodiversity. The Cesab, a program of the FRB, enables the collection and pooling of existing biodiversity data and information in order to provide an overview of biodiversity and model its future. Thanks to its scientific expertise in data processing and in managing working groups, the FRB is a natural partner of PC03 and hosts the Knowledge Hubs at its Cesab facilities in Montpellier.
Project funders and coordinators
