Double Insurance in Dealing with Extremes:Ecological and Social Factors for MakingNature-Based Solutions Last

Global urbanisation has led to extreme population densities often in areasprone to problems such as extreme heat, storm surges, coastal and surface flooding,droughts and fires. Although nature based solutions (NBS) often have specifictargets,one of the overarching objectives with NBS design and implementation is toprotect human livelihoods and well-being, not least by protecting real estate andbuilt infrastructure. However, NBS need to be integrated and spatially and functionallymatched with other land uses, which requires that their contribution to societyis recognised. This chapter will present an ecologically grounded, resilience theoryand social-ecological systems perspective on NBS, with a main focus on how functioningecosystems contribute to the ‘solutions’. We will outline some of the basicprinciples and frameworks for studying and including insurance value in worktowards climate change adaptation and resilience, with a special emphasis on theneed to address both internal and external insurance. As we will demonstratethrough real world examples as well as theory, NBS should be treated as dynamiccomponents nested within larger systems and influenced by social as well as ecologicalfactors. Governance processes seeking to build urban resilience to climatechange in cities and other urban dynamics will need to consider both layers of insurancein order to utilize the powerful role NBS can play in creating sustainable,healthy, and liveable urban systems.QC 20170919