Beyond the label: Do coastal nature-based solutions fulfill the scope of European Commission and IUCN definitions? A systematic review
Abstract
Coastal zones support diverse ecosystem services and host a growing human population, increasing both exposure to hazards and pressure on coastal ecosystems. Traditionally managed through hard engineering approaches, these pressures have increasingly prompted interest in Nature-based Solutions (NbS), promoted as cost-effective, sustainable, resilient, and capable of delivering co-benefits beyond protection. However, it remains unclear to what extent NbS applications in coastal settings align with their conceptual definitions. We conducted a systematic literature review of 119 peer-reviewed manuscripts, assessing compliance with the definitions proposed by the European Commission (EC) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). A two-step approach combined principles-based assessment with coding analysis to evaluate compliance with key definitional elements and their interpretation in practice. Results show that manuscripts align more consistently (66%) with the EC definition than with the IUCN definition (63%). Across both definitions, direct benefits, such as hazard protection, environmental outcomes, and societal contributions, were widely reported (89-98%). In contrast, fundamental principles, including sustainability, resilience, sustainable management, and cost-effectiveness were insufficiently addressed (43.7-65%). Furthermore, many proposed NbS closely resemble long-established measures, suggesting conceptual overlap with approaches such as soft…
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