Nearly 50% of the rural areas in the world are classified as mountainous regions and are exposed to risk from geological and hydrometeorological hazards. Mountains tend to amplify these risks, and even more so under extreme weather events. However, mountainous regions do not receive the same attention as densely populated urban areas in national disaster risk reduction (DRR) plans. The main goal of the PHUSICOS project, named 'According to nature,' is to demonstrate the effectiveness of nature-based and nature-inspired solutions for reducing the impact of extreme weather events in rural mountain landscapes. This objective was achieved through interventions at three large-scale demonstrator case sites: the Serchio River Basin in Italy, the French and Spanish Pyrenees, and the Gudbrandsdalen valley in Norway. Additionally, two smaller concept cases included: the experimental Kaunertal case in Austria and the retrospective case of the Isar River in Germany. Throughout the project, a total of 15 NBS interventions were implemented, consisting of 11 physical measures and 4 educational, Living Lab, and dissemination activities. These interventions address various natural hazards, including flooding, debris flows, erosion, slope instability, rockfall, and snow avalanches.
The NBS interventions at the demonstrator case sites were proposed by stakeholders using a Living Labs approach. Based on feedback from key stakeholders, the Living Labs were seen as a highly useful tool to engage a broad range of stakeholders and generate knowledge regarding NBS. Further to the importance of inclusive engagement of stakeholders to boost NBS implementation, several actions can be undertaken to promote NBS and include promoting cross-sectoral and multi-level governance mechanisms, introducing novel financing tools to expand the range of feasible NBS projects, advocating for divestment from nature-negative projects, and developing mechanisms to transfer NBS risk. To support these actions, the PHUSICOS has applied the 'Comprehensive Framework for NBS Assessment' to evaluate and verify the performance of selected NBS by modelling different climatic scenarios. Future post-PHUSICOS plans include long-term monitoring to validate the modelling outcomes and assess the effectiveness of NBS interventions. Continuously collecting monitoring data will further enhance the evidence base on NBS performance and document their co-benefits, thereby bolstering stakeholders' confidence in NBS.
Overall, the PHUSICOS project demonstrates that NBS interventions, along with continued stakeholder engagement and monitoring, can effectively reduce the impact of natural hazards. This, combined with governance structure transformations and ongoing learning and capacity building, will help mainstream NBS into disaster risk reduction practices in the future.
