CONEXUS

CO-producing Nature-based solutions and restored Ecosystems: transdisciplinary neXus for Urban Sustainability

Ciudad:
EUROPA  & LATINOAMERICA

Servicio:
By connecting researchers, policy makers, bottom-up initiatives, professional partnerships, local communities and developers, the Conexus project is co-creating and evidencing solutions that are inspired and supported by nature

Área:
GLOBAL

Contrato/Promotor:
The project is funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

Approach

THE CONEXUS PROJECT is bringing together Latin American and European partners to strengthen international cooperation on nature-based solutions and ecosystem restoration. The project is funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Conexus is a four-year project that will provide accessible knowledge on how to restore natural ecosystems; improve the quality of life in and around cities; and support collaboration between Latin America and Europe. The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

The Conexus project is working in seven European and Latin American cities to implement nature-based solutions. These focal cities share common challenges of sustainable urbanisation and are united by their extensive experience, transdisciplinary approach and vision to implement place-based nature-based solutions and nature-based thinking.

Grupo Verde and the Latin American Landscape Initiative (LALI) are partners.

https://www.conexusnbs.com/  @conexusnbs

CONEXUS  demonstrate how nature-based solutions can reverse the harmful effects of urbanisation through the restoration and effective functioning of urban and peri-urban ecosystems and the services they provide. The project will show how nature-based solutions can help restore the relationship between people and nature. It will demonstrate how nature-based solutions can deliver a wide range of benefits by piloting innovative ways of integrating nature-based solutions within their local contexts.

There key principles of the Conexus approach are:

• Nature-based thinking – nature-based solutions are places in their own right rather than installations, helping them to become more resilient and sustainable.
• Place-based approach – nature-based solutions are important for place-making (creating nature-based solutions), place-keeping (maintaining into the future) and place-prescribing (policies are programmes designed to engage people).
• Co-production – engaging project partners and communities in the creation and delivery of policies and nature-based solutions.
• Mosaic governance models – establishing flexible teams from different sectors and levels to collaborate on specific issues and projects.
• Nature-based solutions at multiple scales – creating and evaluating nature-based solutions at different scales: macro (e.g. city wide, strategic network); meso (e.g. river corridor restoration, food production); and micro (e.g. schools grounds, communal spaces).

We used the term Nature-based Thinking (NBT) as “… a problem-solving mindset that sees nature and humanity as indissolubly connected and [which] is ready to work across sectors, disciplines and levels of governance to implement NBS over conventional infrastructure and to advocate and educate for change that supports this transformation”.

Resultado:

The project continues until the end of 2024