Nature-Based Solutions (Dec 2023)
At the margins of the international community, but inside global knowledge and policy flows? How cities in Taiwan and Scotland position themselves within intergovernmental rhetoric on nature-based solutions
Abstract
Nature-based solutions have significant interest as a response to environmental change in cites. There is a burgeoning field of research into how knowledge and expertise travels between cities to enable learning for and deployment of nature-based solutions and other climate and sustainability strategies. Yet, intergovernmental fora and institutions retain a key role in mediating these knowledge and policy flows. This paper evaluates how cities in countries distanced from state-level international platforms engage with global knowledge flows on nature-based solutions for climate adaptation, assessing Glasgow (Scotland) and New Taipei (Taiwan). Analysis of municipal adaptation plans and associated policies shows both Glasgow and New Taipei pro-actively adopt the language and metrics of international policies and strategies when justifying and assessing nature-based solutions, and use nature-based solutions as a means of furthering their aspirations for greater international recognition and engagement. Moreover, localisation of international best practices for nature-based solutions deployment offers an opportunity for cities such as Glasgow and New Taipei to attract global attention and position themselves as centres of expertise – regardless of the status of the country they are located in – in the global knowledge economy of urban nature-based climate adaptation.
