Environmental Sociology of Natural Assets and Nature-based Solutions

Natural assets are the stocks of natural resources and ecosystems that produce ecosystem services. Nature-based solutions, then, are actions we take to optimize ecosystem services use to help resolve societal challenges such as climate change adaptation and mitigation, floodwater control, environmental pollution, biodiversity loss, and threats to people's physical and mental health. Conventional approaches to resolving these challenges tend to employ "hard" technology and infrastructure, which is very effective at doing one thing, but is also expensive and has a limited lifespan. In contrast, nature-based solutions have the potential to be more cost-effective, are multi-functional, and, in principle, have unlimited lifespan. Evidence suggests that hybrid systems of hard technology combined with nature-based solutions may provide the most effective solutions to a range of societal problems.

Despite this potential of nature-based solutions, their proactive use currently remains limited. The planning and implementation of nature-based solutions often hinges on support from permitting authorities at various levels of government. But these authorities experience path dependency, risk aversion, operational constraints, lack of capacity, and other factors that can be barriers to their support. Local communities also have to be in support of nature-based solutions, but resource constraints, lack of knowledge, and competing land uses may hold them back.

Our research investigates how natural assets and nature-based solutions function in urban and regional planning contexts. We explore the social dimensions of environmental conservation, examining how communities interact with and value natural assets. This includes investigating the effectiveness of nature-based solutions as complements to conventional "grey" infrastructure, particularly in urban climate adaptation contexts. Our interdisciplinary work reflects contemporary environmental sociology's focus on the social construction of nature, power dynamics in environmental decision-making, and the justice implications of conservation policies. This research bridges environmental sociology with practical policy implementation, and centres inclusive, cross-sector, and community-engaged approaches to environmental planning.

Fields of research

• Environmental Planning
• Climate Mitigation & Adaptation
• Land Use Change
• Social Psychology
• Organizational & Institutional Analysis