Opportunities and limitations for Nature-Based Solutions in EU policies – Assessed with a focus on ponds and pondscapes

Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) are growing in popularity to mitigate and adapt to climate change, enhance biodiversity, and secure human well-being. However, the emergence of NBS has not generated equal attention for all ecosystems. One such neglected ecosystem are ponds and pondscapes (i.e. groups of ponds in a landscape), which are deteriorating in quality and diminishing in quantity. As the European Union (EU) is regarded as influential in the conceptualisation and operationalisation of NBS, we conducted a qualitative content analysis of 38 EU policies to identify opportunities and limitations for the implementation of ponds and pondscapes as NBS. We focus our analysis on ponds and pondscapes, but their prevalence in different landscapes and their multitude of benefits allows us to also make some inferences about the implications of the EU policy context for NBS at large. We find that EU policies strengthen NBS linked to existing and potential Natura 2000 sites, as well as to ecosystems protected through the EU’s Birds and Habitats Directives and Water Framework Directive. However, if ecosystems fall outside of these already established policies – as is the case with the vast majority of ponds and pondscapes – their implementation as NBS may be hampered. We also find that the EU emphasises natural water retention measures and carbon-rich ecosystems for climate change adaptation and mitigation, but mostly does not explicitly include ponds and pondscapes despite their potential contributions. Other findings are that the EU’s Horizon Europe research policy will likely influence which ecosystems will be used and financed as NBS, while the exact ambition and selection of NBS rests with lower-level authorities or individuals. Therefore, further studies tracing the impact of the supra-national EU policy framework at lower governance levels are vital.