Nature-based Solutions for Clean Water

Paul Mahony | 4 Mar 2021

Resilient European Cities: Nature-based Solutions for Clean Water.

Report by The Nature Conservancy, ICLEI and Ecologic Institute. Available at www.nature.org

This report examines how European cities can turn to nature-based solutions (NbS) to protect the water resources on which they depend and, in so doing, contribute to enhancing environmental quality in upstream watersheds. Specific objectives include:

  • To identify European cities that are particularly exposed to diffuse pollution due to changes in land use and poor land management practices;
  • To assess the potential for a selected range of nature-based solutions to mitigate diffuse pollution challenges and generate benefits for people and nature, when deployed at scale;
  • To help water sector stakeholders, policymakers, funders and financiers identify practical ways to prioritise and deploy investments in nature-based solutions for water security (NbS-WS) in Europe.

Key finding: nature-based solutions could help address diffuse pollution in catchments serving 42 million people.