Periodic Reporting for period 1 - UNPplus (Enhanced Urban Nature Plans for Biodiversity Mainstreaming in Society)
Berichtszeitraum: 2024-01-01 bis 2025-06-30
The UNP+ (Enhanced Urban Nature Plans for Biodiversity Mainstreaming in Society) project addresses the urgent need to mainstream biodiversity, ecosystem services, and natural capital into urban planning and governance, in line with the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the Nature Restoration Regulation. The project emerges from the recognition that supranational policies have historically overlooked three transformative aspects:
• Importance of bottom-up, city- and community-driven initiatives to complement national strategies.
• Need for methodologies and capacity-building that engage all societal stakeholders, including market actors, citizens, and local governments, in restoring compromised urban ecosystems.
• Continuous development of nature-based solutions (NBS) that bridge biodiversity conservation with social, economic, and technological challenges.
UNP+ brings together 11 academic partners and 5 European cities (as “Lighthouse” and “Greening” testbeds) to co-create, test, and upscale next-generation Urban Nature Plans (UNPs). The project’s pathway to impact is grounded in a whole-of-society approach:
Lighthouse Cities share mature strategies and best practices in urban biodiversity mainstreaming.
Greening Cities co-create or update their Urban Greening Plans, applying lessons learned and new frameworks developed in the project.
By fostering peer-to-peer learning, participatory planning, and reflexive monitoring, UNP+ aims to:
• Identify and disseminate best practices for mainstreaming biodiversity in diverse urban contexts.
• Improve frameworks for participation, social inclusion, monitoring, and regional integration.
• Enable just, fair, and equitable urban renaturing, particularly for marginalized and vulnerable groups.
The scale and significance of expected impacts are substantial:
• Direct transformation of urban and peri-urban ecosystems in participating cities.
• Capacity-building and knowledge transfer to support replication and upscaling across Europe.
• Policy influence at local, national, and EU levels, supporting the implementation of the Biodiversity Strategy and Nature Restoration Law.
Integration of social sciences and humanities (SSH) is central to UNP+, ensuring that technical solutions are developed with a deep understanding of social equity, governance, and participatory processes. SSH disciplines contribute to:
• Assessing barriers to fair distribution of benefits.
• Addressing spatial and environmental justice.
• Designing inclusive governance and participatory planning mechanisms.
• Activities Performed and Main Achievements (Technical and Scientific).
• Importance of bottom-up, city- and community-driven initiatives to complement national strategies.
• Need for methodologies and capacity-building that engage all societal stakeholders, including market actors, citizens, and local governments, in restoring compromised urban ecosystems.
• Continuous development of nature-based solutions (NBS) that bridge biodiversity conservation with social, economic, and technological challenges.
UNP+ brings together 11 academic partners and 5 European cities (as “Lighthouse” and “Greening” testbeds) to co-create, test, and upscale next-generation Urban Nature Plans (UNPs). The project’s pathway to impact is grounded in a whole-of-society approach:
Lighthouse Cities share mature strategies and best practices in urban biodiversity mainstreaming.
Greening Cities co-create or update their Urban Greening Plans, applying lessons learned and new frameworks developed in the project.
By fostering peer-to-peer learning, participatory planning, and reflexive monitoring, UNP+ aims to:
• Identify and disseminate best practices for mainstreaming biodiversity in diverse urban contexts.
• Improve frameworks for participation, social inclusion, monitoring, and regional integration.
• Enable just, fair, and equitable urban renaturing, particularly for marginalized and vulnerable groups.
The scale and significance of expected impacts are substantial:
• Direct transformation of urban and peri-urban ecosystems in participating cities.
• Capacity-building and knowledge transfer to support replication and upscaling across Europe.
• Policy influence at local, national, and EU levels, supporting the implementation of the Biodiversity Strategy and Nature Restoration Law.
Integration of social sciences and humanities (SSH) is central to UNP+, ensuring that technical solutions are developed with a deep understanding of social equity, governance, and participatory processes. SSH disciplines contribute to:
• Assessing barriers to fair distribution of benefits.
• Addressing spatial and environmental justice.
• Designing inclusive governance and participatory planning mechanisms.
• Activities Performed and Main Achievements (Technical and Scientific).
During the first 18 months, UNP+ has executed a series of interlinked technical and scientific activities across its core work packages:
• Assessment and evaluation of existing UNPs in Lighthouse and Greening Cities, including self-audits and alignment checks with the EU Biodiversity Strategy, Nature Restoration Law, and international frameworks (e.g. Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework).
• Case studies developed from up to three cities, identifying best practices, challenges, and enabling factors for urban renaturing and biodiversity enhancement.
• Peer-to-peer learning and capacity-building exchanges, including regular workshops, city visits, and city-policy dialogues, fostering cross-city knowledge transfer and reflexive monitoring cultures.
• Development and refinement of the UNPplus framework, integrating actionable knowledge on NBS financing, business models, and barriers to implementation, as well as guidelines for spatial planning, impact measurement, and replication potential.
• Establishment of a scientific foundation through literature reviews and publications on state-of-the-art NBS, systemic gaps, and lessons learned in urban nature planning.
• Development of evaluation and monitoring tools, including a baseline for Greening Cities and participatory governance impact assessments.
• Capacity-building programs and materials, tailored to the needs of city staff and stakeholders involved in planning and implementing urban renaturing.
Key achievements include:
• State of Play reports for each partner city, mapping current practices and identifying gaps.
• Drafting and testing of the enhanced UNPplus framework in Greening Cities.
• Initiation of peer learning mechanisms and reflexive monitoring processes.
• Progress towards scientific publications and policy briefs that synthesize findings and recommendations.
• Assessment and evaluation of existing UNPs in Lighthouse and Greening Cities, including self-audits and alignment checks with the EU Biodiversity Strategy, Nature Restoration Law, and international frameworks (e.g. Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework).
• Case studies developed from up to three cities, identifying best practices, challenges, and enabling factors for urban renaturing and biodiversity enhancement.
• Peer-to-peer learning and capacity-building exchanges, including regular workshops, city visits, and city-policy dialogues, fostering cross-city knowledge transfer and reflexive monitoring cultures.
• Development and refinement of the UNPplus framework, integrating actionable knowledge on NBS financing, business models, and barriers to implementation, as well as guidelines for spatial planning, impact measurement, and replication potential.
• Establishment of a scientific foundation through literature reviews and publications on state-of-the-art NBS, systemic gaps, and lessons learned in urban nature planning.
• Development of evaluation and monitoring tools, including a baseline for Greening Cities and participatory governance impact assessments.
• Capacity-building programs and materials, tailored to the needs of city staff and stakeholders involved in planning and implementing urban renaturing.
Key achievements include:
• State of Play reports for each partner city, mapping current practices and identifying gaps.
• Drafting and testing of the enhanced UNPplus framework in Greening Cities.
• Initiation of peer learning mechanisms and reflexive monitoring processes.
• Progress towards scientific publications and policy briefs that synthesize findings and recommendations.
Results to date include:
• Enhanced understanding of barriers and enablers for biodiversity mainstreaming in urban contexts.
• Validated frameworks and tools for participatory urban nature planning.
• Documented best practices and case studies supporting replication and scaling.
Potential impacts:
• Accelerated adoption of nature-based solutions in European cities, contributing to biodiversity targets and climate resilience.
• Improved urban governance and stakeholder engagement, leading to more equitable and just urban transformations.
• Capacity-building of city officials and practitioners, enabling sustained mainstreaming of biodiversity in urban policies.
• Key needs for further uptake and success:
• Continued research and demonstration to refine and adapt frameworks for diverse contexts.
• Access to finance and innovative business models to support large-scale NBS implementation.
• Supportive regulatory and standardization frameworks to facilitate integration of biodiversity objectives in urban planning.
• IPR support and knowledge transfer mechanisms to protect and disseminate innovative solutions.
• Internationalisation and cross-city networks to ensure broad uptake and mutual learning.
• Enhanced understanding of barriers and enablers for biodiversity mainstreaming in urban contexts.
• Validated frameworks and tools for participatory urban nature planning.
• Documented best practices and case studies supporting replication and scaling.
Potential impacts:
• Accelerated adoption of nature-based solutions in European cities, contributing to biodiversity targets and climate resilience.
• Improved urban governance and stakeholder engagement, leading to more equitable and just urban transformations.
• Capacity-building of city officials and practitioners, enabling sustained mainstreaming of biodiversity in urban policies.
• Key needs for further uptake and success:
• Continued research and demonstration to refine and adapt frameworks for diverse contexts.
• Access to finance and innovative business models to support large-scale NBS implementation.
• Supportive regulatory and standardization frameworks to facilitate integration of biodiversity objectives in urban planning.
• IPR support and knowledge transfer mechanisms to protect and disseminate innovative solutions.
• Internationalisation and cross-city networks to ensure broad uptake and mutual learning.