Policies and practices impacting the implementation of nature-based solutions: a comparative study of ponds and pondscapes in eight countries

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are increasingly suggested to address biodiversity decline and climate change. However, many ecosystems are hardly used as NBS, including ponds and pondscapes. We therefore examine how policies and practices affect their implementation as NBS. Using a content analysis of policy documents and stakeholder inputs, we assess the policy context in eight countries but also zoom in on policies and practices in seventeen pondscapes. We derive three key insights: first, a protective status for a pond or pondscape interlinks with other enabling factors for NBS implementation, and protection and conservation should therefore be considered more often as NBS. Second, there is a shortage of, especially long-term, financing. Third, local leadership should be nurtured to overcome a lack of institutional cooperation and stakeholder awareness as well as fragmented land ownership. Beyond that, we show that implementation barriers interlink and interventions should therefore address several barriers simultaneously.

基于自然的解决方案（Nature-based Solutions，NBS）正日益被提出，用于应对生物多样性衰退与气候变化挑战。然而，包括池塘与池塘景观在内的诸多生态系统，却极少被用作基于自然的解决方案。为此，本研究探讨政策与实践如何影响这类生态系统作为基于自然解决方案的落地实施。本研究通过对政策文件与利益相关方建言开展内容分析，评估了八个国家的政策环境，同时深入聚焦17处池塘景观的相关政策与实践情况。本研究得出三项核心结论：其一，池塘或池塘景观的保护认定，与基于自然解决方案落地的其他赋能因素存在联动关系，因此应更多将保护与养护工作纳入基于自然的解决方案范畴。其二，资金供给严重不足，尤其是长期资金。其三，需培育地方领导力，以破解制度合作缺失、利益相关方认知不足以及土地权属分散等困境。此外，本研究表明，各类实施障碍彼此关联，因此相关干预举措应同时针对多重障碍协同推进。