Nature-based solutions and quality of life: protecting, restoring and building human capacities

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are a new approach to investigating human–ecological connections to provide living solutions underpinned by natural processes and structures that are designed to address various environmental challenges while at the same time providing multiple benefits to the economy, society and ecological systems. It is linked to the ecosystem services (ESS) approach. The focus has tended to be on the benefits of environmental and ecological experiments such as improving coastal resilience, but it is also important to investigate the health benefits and the impact on well-being and quality of life (QOL) to show that people’s interaction with nature is relational and involves more than just the ‘provision of services’. That involves explicitly investigating the myriad of factors that impact human perceptions and experiences in nature along with governance and cultural factors. The research by the authors using the NBS framework is presented. Three intervention pathways are examined- harm reduction, restorative mechanisms and instorative processes. The latter allows citizens to promote new behaviours for achieving benefits that might enhance health outcomes and well-being over time and in diverse socio-economic and cultural contexts through the NBS approach.