Foresight Workshop on Nature-based Solutions and Transformative Change: Exploring Future Research Horizons

On 25–26 February 2025, Biodiversa+ and UNEP‑WCMC co-organised a foresight workshop bringing together experts from diverse disciplines to explore how Nature‑based Solutions (NbS) can contribute to systemic and Transformative Change (TC), and to identify emerging research and innovation priorities at the NbS-transformative change interface. Using horizon scanning, systems‑based discussions and participatory foresight methods, participants examined key trends, uncertainties and potential disruptions shaping the NbS-TC interface towards 2050. The workshop focused on four socio‑ecological contexts (urban areas, agricultural landscapes, mountain ecosystems and coastal regions) to understand how NbS can support deep systemic shifts under different conditions. The report summarises insights on governance, values, finance, socio‑ecological dynamics and long‑term risk and resilience, and identifies future R&I needs including: frameworks and indicators for assessing NbS contributions to transformative change, research on governance and pathways for a nature‑positive economy, risk, preparedness and resilience research, socio‑ecological and transdisciplinary approaches, and the need for long‑term monitoring and knowledge generation. The findings will inform future updates of the Biodiversa+ Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda and contribute to European and global discussions on biodiversity, NbS, and transformative pathways.