Strengthening international cooperation on nature-based solutions and ecosystem restoration
Across Europe and Latin America many of our cities face the same challenges. By sharing our experience and knowledge we can learn from each other, identify and implement the right solutions for each landscape context.
Nature-based solutions and ecosystem restoration have the potential to enable cities to overcome many of the shared challenges they face, simultaneously providing environmental, social and economic benefits.
Cities and communities need evidence of long-term viability before investing in nature-based solutions and ecosystem restoration. The Conexus project is providing context-relevant evidence of the effects and long-term viability of these approaches.
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. Find out more about our sibling projects which are also funded from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovations programme.
Approach
CONEXUS will 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).
Project Activities
Find out more about the specific project activities that will be implemented to achieve the aims of Conexus.
Conexus Life-Labs
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.