PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Zhu, Dan
AU  - Fraser, Lily
AU  - Kendal, Dave
AU  - Zhang, Yue
AU  - Flies, Emily J
TI  - Nature-based solutions in Australia: a systematic quantitative literature review of terms, application and policy relevance
AID  - 10.1101/2023.05.11.538642
DP  - 2023 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2023.05.11.538642
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2023/05/13/2023.05.11.538642.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2023/05/13/2023.05.11.538642.full
AB  - Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are emerging as an approach to sustainable environmental management and addressing environmental and social issues in ways that benefit human well-being and biodiversity. NbS have been applied to social-environmental challenges such as climate change and urbanization, but with diverse conceptualisations and applications that may impact their effectiveness and broader uptake. Much of the literature and implementation of NbS has emerged from Europe and though NbS use is rising in Australia, the context is unclear. This systematic quantitative literature review aims to understand Nature-based Solutions in an Australian context.Here we explore the meaning and practical uses of NbS in Australia, through three research questions: In Australia, 1) what is meant by the term ‘nature-based solutions’? 2) what socio-ecological challenges do NbS aim to address and how? 3) are there gaps in NbS research and policy application that are hindering uptake of NbS approaches?We show that in Australia, local governments are using NbS in urban planning to address the compounding challenges brought on by climate change in the human-environment interfaces. However, there is no consensus on NbS definitions and approaches, research is focussed on urban areas and problems, and NbS implementation follows a bottom-up, localised pattern without an integrated policy framework. Based on these findings, we provide recommendations for improving the implementation of NbS in Australia including: 1) a consistency of NbS definition and awareness of NbS approaches; 2) interdisciplinary and interdepartmental collaboration on NbS methods and effectiveness and; 3) an integrated policy framework supporting NbS nationwide.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.