Corresponding author: Mario V Balzan (
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Nature-based solutions (NbS) have the potential to build climate resilience and tackle key societal challenges while also providing multiple co-benefits to biodiversity and human well-being. The demand for nature-based innovation is strongly felt in Malta – a small island state, with the highest population density in the European Union. Against this background, the Horizon 2020 project ReNature (Promoting research excellence in nature-based solutions for innovation, economic growth and human well-being in Malta) has the goal to enhance research excellence of the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST), as well as the national research, policy, business and stakeholder community. The six strategically designed training activities fostering capacity-building and research excellence, delivered during the first half of the project, resulted in useful learning outputs. These are twelve presentations, available as attachments to this article, which cover a large scope of topics related to the implementation of NbS. At a later stage, ReNature will publish another round of learning outputs, resulting from the rest of the training activities planned within the scope of the project.
Nature-based solutions (NbS) have the potential to build climate resilience, tackle key societal challenges and provide multiple co-benefits to biodiversity and human well-being. The demand for nature-based innovation is strongly felt in Malta, a small island state with the highest population density in the European Union. The country has over the past years gone through strong tourism and economic growth but at the same time is highly vulnerable to climate change and has limited natural resources. The implementation of nature-based solutions creates therefore an opportunity to improve
Against this background, the aim of the capacity-building activities carried out within the first 18 months of the Horizon 2020 project ReNature (Promoting research excellence in nature-based solutions for innovation, economic growth and human well-being in Malta) was to enhance the institutional research capacity and to develop stronger links betwee research, policy, and the business and stakeholder community. As such, the project is helping to position Malta as a front-runner
Six strategically designed training activities were delivered during the first 18 months of the project. These trainings have focused on the complex problems that are present in human-dominated environments, including the effects and impacts of urbanisation, such as rapidly emerging and changing landscapes in the areas of rural-urban interface. Cultural landscapes and the related complex social and environmental issues call for a rethinking of traditional landscape planning and management approaches in the twenty-first century. Participants had the possibility to interact and share experiences and activities with experts from the research and practitioners’ community during the practical and theoretical sessions that were carried out within each training and networking event.
The ReNature training courses were aimed at providing trainees with an understanding of the potential of nature-based solutions in cultural landscapes, in the context of the holistic approach towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. This has allowed the trainees to discuss the importance of NbS and demonstrate that they have the necessary skills and knowledge to identify and apply NbS in different contexts. The training courses included “problem-based” learning sessions, aiming at the stimulation of professional development and further cooperation among participants. All training modules were delivered in English.
The training courses participants identified societal challenges that would benefit from the adoption of NbS, described appropriate NbS to address such challenges across a rural-urban gradient, evaluated the benefits of mainstreaming NbS through the use of tools and knowledge synthesis, ad described the links between green infrastructure and human health in urban areas. In addition, trainees learnt how to assess the impact of ecosystem structure and function on the delivery of regulating ecosystem services. Trainees carried out field-based work and actively engaged in discussions on selected case-studies in order to obtain important first-hand experience in this field and understand how ecosystem service knowledge can be applied in planning and design-making to support the design of NbS. Moreover, the participants were also trained in communicating scientific content in an engaging and impactful way. Furthermore, during group works, oral presentations and science communication sessions, they tested different approaches to communicate concepts and key information about NbS and sustainability.
The aim of the training events was to exchange knowledge, build capacity and promote research for the NbS implementation.
A total of six consecutive capacity-building events were held between 1st September 2018 – 29th February 2020:
For these training and networking events, we brought together 28 mentors and speakers from the ReNature consortium and the research and practice community across Europe (Table
These training courses involved the participation of 137 trainees from 22 countries (Fig.
In parallel with the ReNature 1st Training Course, a thematic workshop was held with stakeholders, representing organisations from spheres which include business, national and local government, government-associated entities, and research, from Malta and other Mediterranean islands, to assess practitioners’ knowledge needs related to NbS. A collaborative, multi-stakeholder exercise to identify priority knowledge needs that could enhance the uptake of NbS in Mediterranean islands started on the 5th April 2019 and was concluded on the 7th May 2019. This took the form of a three-round knowledge synthesis led by the University of East Anglia, with the workshop component (Round 3) hosted at MCAST (Fig.
We identified 47 priority resulting knowledge needs in rank order, classified according to whether they can be addressed by knowledge synthesis and further research, or demand action in policy and practice. The top priority knowledge needs were (i) greater clarity on definitions and scope of the NbS concept; (ii) which NbS are adapted to dry Mediterranean conditions and minimise irrigation needs?; and (iii) how to increase uptake of NbS into urban plans. Other priority knowledge needs included the modification of new or existing buildings and built-up areas to accommodate green infrastructure, and cost-benefit analyses of the creation of green urban spaces. In collaboration with these stakeholders, the findings will determine future research strategies on NbS implementation in the Mediterranean islands
The
By the end of the course, the trainees were able to:
Select the appropriate ecosystem service mapping and assessment method/approach for a specific purpose and justify the selection; Explain what ‘green and blue infrastructure’ is in rural, urban and coastal environments; Map green infrastructure at an appropriate scale.
The
The skills that were developed included:
Analytical skills – field identification of NbS, critically assessing their likelihood of success in a real-world scenario, discussing their co-benefits, and establishing their sustainability potential (management, efficacy, and linkages in a city setting); Design and practice skills – identifying the limitations of mainstreaming NbS, proposing methods of providing nature-based solutions within restricted scenarios, and role-playing scenarios for engaging with stakeholders (Fig. Presentation skills – communicating NbS at different societal levels.
The
Upon completing the summer school, learners were able to:
determine societal challenges and identify nature-based solutions to address them; evaluate the benefits of mainstreaming nature-based solutions and describe links between green infrastructure and human health; assess the impact of ecosystem structure and function for regulating ecosystem services; recognise how ecosystem service knowledge can be applied in urban planning decision-making, and communicate scientific content in an engaging and impactful way.
The
The training activities upskilled participants in:
Understanding the ecological foundations of NbS; Assessing their impacts on ecosystem services and their socio-economic implications; Identifying planning barriers and opportunities; Applying key principles for NbS design to target specific urban needs and challenges through assigned case studies.
The
By the end of the course, trainees were able to:
Define nature-based solutions and provide an overview of ongoing initiatives in the Mediterranean region; Assess the demand for nature-based solutions based on environmental monitoring and socio-economic data; Identify nature-based solutions and interventions that may be applied in rural landscapes to provide co-benefits to human well-being and biodiversity; Select the appropriate nature-based solution to address a specific societal challenge within a rural landscape.
Attached to this article, there is a set of training materials resulting from the above listed events. They will be complemented by a second article, linking to the rest of the key outputs presented in upcoming training activities of ReNature.
The training events have created a space for open and inspiring discussion among project partners, academics, practitioners and relevant stakeholders, complementing the establishment of a national NbS research and innovation cluster. These training activities have managed to bring together a strong stakeholder community, which together with the ReNature Twinning collaboration, is working to develop the scientific, technical and research capacities to implement NbS in practice. This NbS cluster will help to further enhance the support and coordination given by ReNature for improving the national participation in Horizon 2020 projects on NbS.
In the second half of its timespan, the ReNature project has planned additional training and capacity-building activities that will foster research excellence at the participating institutions. These shall consist of one advanced scientific online training course, focusing on collaborations across the science-policy interface for NbS, and a second PhD training school, focussing on designing NbS. T
The ReNature project receives funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 809988.
Nationality of the training events’ trainees.
Prioritisation of knowledge needs at a collaborative workshop.
The ReNatureTreeMap app and Tree dataset generated by participants during the Training course 1.
Identifying the limitations of mainstreaming NbS within restricted scenarios.
Fieldwork in an urban (Birkirkara) and rural (Comino) case-studies.
Summer school group work presentation.
Group work on NBS design in urban planning.
Practical demonstration of drone usage in monitoring the environment.
List of Trainers
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Balzan, Mario V. | Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology, Malta |
Dicks, Lynn V. | University of Cambridge, United Kingdom |
Collier, Marcus | Trinity College Dublin, Ireland |
Geneletti, Davide | University of Trento, Italy |
Grace, Miriam | University of Cambridge, United Kingdom |
Tomaskinova, Judita | Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology, Malta |
Longato, Davide | University of Trento, Italy |
Sapundzhieva, Anna | Pensoft Publishers Ltd., Bulgaria |
Calleja, Eman | Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology, Malta |
Zerafa, Steve | Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology, Malta |
Łowicki, Damian | Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland |
Lennon, Mick | University College Dublin, Ireland |
McIntyre, Tadhg | University of Limerick, Ireland |
Harris, Maryann | Dublin City Council, Ireland |
O’Malley, Vincent | Transport Infrastructure Ireland |
Sweeney, Noel | Sweeney Associates, Ireland |
Cortinovis, Chiara | Lund University, Sweden |
Adem Esmail, Blal | University of Trento, Italy |
Kato Huerta, Jarumi | University of Trento, Italy |
Orta Ortiz, Susana | University of Trento, Italy |
Giovannini, Lorenzo | University of Trento, Italy |
Falco, Enzo | University of Trento, Italy |
Segura, Lorena | Mediterranean Wetland Observatory, Tour du Valat, Arles, France |
Alcantara, Andres | IUCN Malaga, Spain |
Marini, Simone | Institute of Life Sciences, Land Lab., Pisa, Italy |
Biesmeijer, Koos | Naturalis Biodiversity Centre Leiden, Netherlands |
Fürst, Christine | Martin-Luther University Halle Wittenberg, Germany |
Theochari, Dimitra | MSB Landshaftsarchitekten Hamburg, Germany; COST Action Circular City, National Technical University, Greece |
Biodiversity, green infrastructure and ecosystem services: an introduction
Presentation
File: oo_468439.pdf
Identification of trees in a Maltese urban context
Presentation
File: oo_471501.pdf
Ecosystem services in Polish urban areas
Presentation
File: oo_467987.pdf
Using evidence in decision-making
Presentation
File: oo_468442.pdf
The ecological foundations: biodiversity and its relationship to ecological function
Presentation
File: oo_468470.pdf
Designing NbS in cities: What do planners need to know?
Presentation
File: oo_468430.pdf
Nature-based solutions and environmental justice
Presentation
File: oo_467990.pdf
Nature-based solutions: not just a city thing!
Presentation
File: oo_468014.pdf
Management and restoration of Mediterranean wetlands to provide ecosystem services and other benefits
Presentation
File: oo_468431.pdf
How can we save bees through sustainable farming
Presentation
File: oo_468023.pdf
Identifying priority knowledge needs for implementing nature-based solutions-results from Malta and other Mediterranean islands
Presentation
File: oo_468017.pdf
Non-material ecosystem benefits of protected areas as a bridge to future challenges in sustainable development
Presentation
File: oo_467991.pdf