Innovative strategy for enhancing nature-based solutions during climate technology transfer process

Recently, Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have increasingly been regarded as a new opportunity to maximize the synergies between nature, society, and the economy. In addition, especially for policymakers and practitioners engaged in climate technology transfer activities from developed to developing countries, this concept is promoted as a cost-effective, agile, and innovative way of tackling various climate challenges to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs). Thus, in the present work, to enhance NbS as an innovative implement during the climate technology transfer, we first analyze previous NbS cases during the technical assistance activities for some SDGs accomplished by the United Nations Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), such as coastal risk protection (to maximize ecosystems, Type 1), agroforestry (to restore ecosystems, Type 2) and green urban design (to create ecosystems, Type 3). Then, through in-depth interviews with NbS stakeholders, we identify dominant barriers to implementing each NbS Type in terms of innovation element: technology, market, and regulation. Finally, based on our staged innovation model considering the two-sided networks, we propose novel strategy for enhancing NbS by overcoming each barrier during the three stages of the climate technology transfer process: NbS technology assessment in the first eco-maximizing stage, blended finances for market creation in the second eco-restoring stage, and regulation incentivization in the third eco-creating stage.