Societal Challenges and Nature Based Solutions

The course introduces the concept of nature-based solutions and provides insight into its importance in dealing with various societal challenges by protecting, developing and/or creating ecosystems while promoting biodiversity and human well-being. Societal challenges linked to climate change, ecosystem resilience, biodiversity, population growth and urbanization as well as resource efficiency and circularity lay the foundation for knowledge generation. Multifunctional measures based on the functions ecosystems contribute, so-called ecosystem services, have a significant role in the course. Global, regional and local societal challenges and nature-based solutions are studied. The potential of nature-based solutions to, for example, face climate change, increase the resilience and biodiversity of ecosystems and promote sustainable urbanization and circular resource use is analyzed and discussed. Furthermore, the course deals with practical examples of how companies, authorities and other organizations work with nature-based solutions and what results have been achieved as well as the impact this has had on sustainability, diversity and ethical aspects. This also includes assessing the role of science in decision-making around measures linked to sustainable development.