A Review of Nature-based Solutions Research Perspectives and Enlightenments Thereof to the Application in China

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) is a collective term for all relevant nature-based practices that benefit the environment and people. The comprehensiveness of the conceptual scope of NbS entails a refined perspective and entry point for NbS research and implementation, but there is still a lack of clear pathways to achieve this. This research screens relevant NbS researches home and abroad using CNKI and Web of Science database to explore different perspectives for NbS research through qualitative analysis. It is found that these NbS researches are mainly conducted at four levels: objects, subjects, goals and schemes. Specifically, objects focus on green infrastructure, ecosystem or social challenges; subjects, emphasize relative roles of human and nature and different roles of different people; goals highlight forms, functions and sustainable development goals; and schemes target at the extent of ecosystem damage or social challenges. Additionally, the entry points at different levels vary significantly, generally focusing on only one to two aspects, and existing NbS researches mostly prefer to determine schemes by objects, with insufficient emphasis on subjects and goals. In view of this, this research, based on territorial spatial planning, proposes an NbS implementation pathway of “production-living-ecological space – ecosystems – comprehensive challenges – expected benefits – implementation subjects and methods – operation manuals and monitoring standards” by integrating existing NbS research perspectives home and abroad, while revealing current diversified ideas in NbS research and implementation, which is of practical significance for promoting the localization of NbS in China.