Nature-based Solutions to Mitigate Environmental Challenges: A Systems Thinking Approach for Integrated Understanding of Human-Nature Interactions

Urban areas increasingly face challenges associated with dynamic interactions between human and nature systems, such as global (land-, water-use and climate) changes and their related environmental consequences. These challenges can be addressed by sustainable management of coupled human-nature systems that are being stablished and progressed in urban areas. In this context, nature-based solutions (NbSs), as cost-effective actions, are used to protect, sustain, and restore natural or engineered ecosystems for potentially increasing their services delivery to humans. Being inspired and supported by nature systems, NbSs provide human well-being and biodiversity benefits and address coupled environmental-social-economic challenges. This study develops an integrated understanding of human-nature interactions, by investigating wetland functions and their values in Stockholm region, a European densely populated urban area. Wetlands integrate natural and anthropogenic processes and help cities adapt to changes by enhancing their resilience to environmental and social challenges. In this study, a participatory approach has been applied for combining local and scientific knowledge to address the following questions: (i) What are the underlying system dynamics and interactions between urbanization and wetland regulating ecosystem services as coupled human-nature systems? and (ii) How do these dynamics affect synergies and trade-offs in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? Therefore, relevant actors have been involved in thematic sector workshops and followed a systems thinking technique to co-create a causal loop diagram (CLD) as a conceptual system representation. The CLD highlights key components and drivers of the system, providing actor-specific perspectives of interactions and feedback structures within the system. Dynamic hypotheses on the effectiveness and roles of wetlands as NbSs in the study region have also been examined in a fuzzy cognitive map, developed as a semi-quantitative system representation. The results provide insights on wetland contributions to attaining SDGs in urban areas, as well as potential transition pathways toward sustainable development by identifying opportunities and barriers for the study region.