Coevolutionary approach to unlock the transformative potential of nature-based solutions for more inclusive and resilient communities

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are governance techniques and models that directly and cost-effectively benefit both nature and humans. Despite the progress in NBS design and implementation, the socio-political challenge is that NBS are often tailored for the privileged, their design is expert-led, and their implementation hampered by institutional and administrative inertia. NBS have not been able to support a just transformation of habits for sustainability, and fail to incorporate non-human actors or include marginal and vulnerable humans as true beneficiaries of these solutions. COEVOLVERS goes beyond the state of the art by introducing a co-evolutionary approach, which offers a radically new view for NBS design and implementation by looking at NBS at the interface of technological and biological spheres and considering full co-creation as an interplay not only between the stakeholders but also between human and nonhuman actors. To accomplish this, COEVOLVERS explores through seven Living Labs (LL) across Europe the situational and place-based conditions around the socio-politics of NBS design and implementation. The purpose is to alter the socio-ecological conditions to provide governance models and techniques, motivation structures and practices for more inclusive NBS and resilient communities. COEVOLVERS helps develop already existing, incipient, and emerging NBS with local actors by means of participatory and digital transdisciplinary methodologies. COEVOLVERS will support the growth of novel capabilities, entrepreneurship, and renewal capacity for a just transition. COEVOLVERS engages and informs policy- and decisionmakers to ensure their contribution to transformational impacts. We integrate co-created knowledge and preparedness to act with actual governance and decision-making structures to ensure implementation and critical evaluation together with the continuous reconfiguration and development of models, techniques and tools.