This 90-minute workshop will explore how Nature-based Solutions (NbS) can link science, policy, and practice to address disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, while safeguarding biodiversity and strengthening societal resilience. Drawing on evidence and practical experience from national and regional initiatives, the session will highlight innovative approaches that harness ecosystem services for risk reduction and sustainable development. Case studies from the EU-funded NBSINFRA and ALBATROSS projects will illustrate NbS as living laboratories where scientists, policymakers, practitioners, and communities co-produce knowledge and test solutions in urban and rural contexts. These examples demonstrate how NbS can be adapted to diverse settings while generating transferable lessons for scaling.

The workshop emphasizes co-production of actionable knowledge across rights holders and stakeholders to ensure NbS are inclusive, credible, and effective. Key enabling conditions such as robust scientific frameworks, evidence-based policy design, innovative financing mechanisms, and cross-sectoral partnerships will be discussed to strengthen trust in science and biodiversity-informed decision-making. Goals include sharing science-based insights, comparing rural and urban applications, exploring enabling conditions for scaling NbS, and capturing stakeholder perspectives. Expected outcomes include a synthesis of evidence and lessons, identification of capacity-building priorities, and strengthened science–policy–society dialogue to advance resilient, inclusive societies.