The Social Dimension of Research and Implementation of Nature-based solutions: Utilising Synergies for Biodiversity and Climate

The BioClimSocial project is intended to highlight the significance of the social dimension in the context of researching, planning and implementing measures (respective, interventions) for biodiversity and climate at the local (or regional) level. The ‘social dimension’ encompasses the views, needs and experiences of a diversity of actors/stakeholders across civil society, industry and academia, as well as relations between these actors/stakeholders (power relations, institutional arrangements, governance systems). The project is to complement the existing knowledge and tools in the respective field by putting emphasis on exploring the social dimension in the applied research on climate-relevant NbS: elucidating an understanding of how the impact, relevance, efficacy and efficiency of applied research can be increased through the involvement of target groups, and of how the knowledge on the social dimension gathered at the research phase can further help the implementation of NbS locally. Thus, the overarching goal is to produce evidence of how one can enable win-win relationships between various actors/stakeholders in the context of biodiversity and climate change mitigation (and adaptation) research and implementation, with specific focus on applied research. In essence, the BioClimSocial project is to exemplify science in practice and in so doing, directly contribute to biodiversity and climate protection with the potential for future development across geographical and social sectors.