Our Research
Evidence for leveraging change in nature-based solution policy and investment.
Research at the PiNC Lab explores the enablers and constraints of effective and equitable nature-based solutions across all phases including design, planning, implementation, maintenance, monitoring and evaluation. All projects at the lab fall within the below research themes. Read our full list of publications here.
Social impacts & equity
Our research examines the relationship between equitable and effective nature-based solutions, and how different solutions build adaptive capacity and reduce climate risks sensitivity.
Environmental impacts
We investigate ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies between nature-based solutions used for adaptation and mitigation, particularly for water-carbon couplings and food production.
Finance & capacity
We focus on understanding what factors and evidence types incentivise investment in equitable and effective nature-based solutions, and explore approaches that enable those in practice and policy to support this.
Governance
Our research examines the governance of nature-based solutions, aiming to shed light on how they can play a role in development that is just, sustainable and climate-resilient for all.
Featured publications
Addressing climate change requires knowledge of its impacts on both nature and people. This Review in the journal Nature Reviews Earth & Environment depicts current approaches to the attribution of climate change impacts and potential uses for this information. The discussion covers how impact attribution identifies the drivers of observed changes and events that form links in the causal chain from anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and other human-induced climate forcing factors to effects on natural and human systems mediated by changes in climate and weather. It suggests Collaboration between global climate attribution experts, impact modellers, policy experts and related scholars, and interested parties beyond science will help to produce impact attribution results that address well-framed questions of societal relevance.
Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA), or the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services to help people adapt to the adverse effects of climate change, is increasingly recognised as a vital strategy for building climate resilience. However, evaluating how effectively these interventions perform in real-world scenarios remains a complex challenge. This systematic review published in the journal Nature-Based Solutions evaluated the evidence base for EbA interventions across South Africa’s freshwater ecosystems to show that while EbA holds demonstrable potential to reduce climate vulnerability, improve ecological conditions, and deliver local socioeconomic co-benefits, critical knowledge and monitoring gaps must be addressed to maximise its impact.
Co-production is essential for usable and useful climate services, yet expert-driven, supply-side approaches and limited engagement persist. This study published in npj Climate investigates the relationship between users’ current climate-service use and desired needs for completely new climate services for nature-based solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa, based on 530 interviews. It reveals gaps between current use and desired needs point to priorities for new climate services, including integrated climate-risk information and community and digital sharing channels. The results suggest simply asking users what they need may blur the distinction between strengthening existing services and identifying genuinely new needs.