Evaluating the Impact of Nature-Based Solutions: A Handbook for Practitioners

The Handbook aims to provide decision-makers with a comprehensive NBS impact assessment framework, and a robust set of indicators and methodologies to assess impacts of nature-based solutions across 12 societal challenge areas: Climate Resilience; Water Management; Natural and Climate Hazards; Green Space Management; Biodiversity; Air Quality; Place Regeneration; Knowledge and Social Capacity Building for Sustainable Urban Transformation; Participatory Planning and Governance; Social Justice and Social Cohesion; Health and Well-being; New Economic Opportunities and Green Jobs. Indicators have been developed collaboratively by representatives of 17 individual EU-funded NBS projects and collaborating institutions such as the EEA and JRC, as part of the European Taskforce for NBS Impact Assessment, with the four-fold objective of: serving as a reference for relevant EU policies and activities; orient urban practitioners in developing robust impact evaluation frameworks for nature-based solutions at different scales; expand upon the pioneering work of the EKLIPSE framework by providing a comprehensive set of indicators and methodologies; and build the European evidence base regarding NBS impacts. They reflect the state of the art in current scientific research on impacts of nature-based solutions and valid and standardized methods of assessment, as well as the state of play in urban implementation of evaluation frameworks

Time-resolved autoantibody profiling facilitates stratification of preclinical type 1 diabetes in children.

Progression to clinical type 1 diabetes varies among children who develop beta-cell autoantibodies. Differences in autoantibody patterns could relate to disease progression and etiology. Here we modeled complex longitudinal auto-antibody profiles by using a novel wavelet-based algorithm. We identified clusters of similar profiles associated with various types of progression among 600 children from The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) birth cohort study; these children developed persistent insulin autoantibodies (IAA), GAD autoantibodies (GADA), insulinoma-associated antigen 2 autoantibodies (IA-2A), or a combination of these, and they were followed up prospectively at 3- to 6-month intervals (median follow-up 6.5 years). Children who developed multiple autoantibody types (n = 370) were clustered, and progression from seroconversion to clinical diabetes within 5 years ranged between clusters from6%(95% CI 0, 17.4) to 84% (59.2, 93.6). Children who seroconverted early in life (median age <2 years) and developed IAA and IA-2A that were stable-positive on follow-up had the highest risk of diabetes, and this risk was unaffected by GADA status. Clusters of children who lacked stable-positive GADA responses contained more boys and lower frequencies of the HLA-DR3 allele. Our novel algorithm allows refined grouping of beta-cell autoantibody-positive children who distinctly progressed to clinical type 1 diabetes, and it provides new opportunities in searching for etiological factors and elucidating complex disease mechanisms

Chapter 4. Indicators of NBS Performance and Impact

This chapter introduces 12 categories of societal challenges that NBS can address (Section 4.1). These are conceptually mapped against the UN Sustainable Development Goals. For each of the 12 societal challenge areas, Section 4.2 outlines and lists indicators to evaluate the performance and impact of NBS. It reviews the different types of NBS, gives examples of each NBS type, and lists the indicators related to the particular societal challenge in a series of tables. Associated methodologies are compiled in the related Appendix of Methods. To help navigate, the indicators are classified as structural, process-based or outcome-oriented. Structural indicators are particularly useful during the NBS planning process and can help identify where resources may be lacking or highlight policy and/or procedural gaps that require attention. Process-based indicators can provide information about the value or impacts of the collaborative processes that underpin NBS (co-creation, co-implementation and co- management). The outcome-oriented indicators are useful to understand NBS performance by establishing an understanding of baseline (pre-NBS) conditions and following changes to these conditions after NBS implementation. We distinguish between recommended and additional indicators. Recommended indicators are considered the most important ones to monitor NBS impact. Additional indicators can provide highly valuable information, depending on local context and particular data needs. The chapter concludes with a reflection on the importance of critical thinking to select the right indicators for a holistic assessment of NBS and the development of emerging indicators (Section 4.3)