Tackling the resilience of the olive landscape through nature-based solutions: a case study from the Akdeniz protected area of Northern Cyprus

The olive landscape in the Mediterranean region has intentionally been designed and managed for various purposes for centuries. Although this landscape is crucial for the livelihoods of local communities, assessing its resilience remains uncertain due to the limited studies made so far. To contribute to this knowledge gap, this study aimed to assess the resilience of the olive landscape and explore appropriate nature-based solutions (NbS) for its protection and sustainable management in the Akdeniz protected area of Northern Cyprus by employing a range of resilience assessment indicators, a questionnaire designed on a 1–5 scoring system, and focus group discussions. The resilience of the olive landscape was evaluated within the context of four domains. The results showed that although the resilience of biodiversity and ecosystem conservation remains at a moderate level (3.29 points), there is a decline in the resilience of livelihood and well-being (2.78 points), traditional knowledge (1.84 points), and governance and social equity (2.67 points), respectively. The greatest degree of resilience was found in the indicators for food security (4.28 points), traditional diet (4.25 points), and lifestyle (4.23 points). However, the overall resilience of the olive landscape was estimated to be low at 2.77 points due to the impact of several landscape change drivers identified (e.g. land abandonment). Therefore, a typology of NbS, focusing on the category and types of NbS, was developed to tackle the resilience of the olive landscape and support the sustainable development of the region. Consequently, the concepts of resilience and NbS can serve as a guiding framework to promote the protection and sustainable management of the olive landscape in the region and beyond. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2025.