The role of public and private sectors in mainstreaming nature-based solutions - PBF 19 April 2021

The Policy Business Forum (PBF) consists of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) experts and knowledgeable stakeholders at the international, European, and national scale. The main aim of the PBF is to explore innovative ways to strengthen the science-policy-business nexus in order to exploit opportunities and overcome barriers in NbS implementation in the disaster risk reduction (DRR) sector. The ambition of the second PBF workshop was to better understand the current state of NbS financing and identify the reforms necessary in the public and private sectors to accelerate NbS upscaling and green transformation. During the workshop, participants discussed the policy and finance reforms that are necessary to drive NbS transformative action. Four keynote speakers provided an overview on: i) the potential of public-private cooperation for mainstreaming NbS and/or for NbS implementation at scale (Monica A. Altamirano, Deltares -a H2020 NAIAD project partner- and World Association of Public Private Partnership units and professionals); ii) NbS in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Green Economy Transition (GET) strategy (Sarah Duff, EBRD); iii) enabling NbS financing to create climate resilient communities in Cyprus (Juraj Jurik, Global Infrastructure Basel Foundation); and iv) payments for ecosystem services in an Italian case study (Nicola Del Seppia, Northern Apennines Hydrographic District Authority – a PHUSICOS project partner).