Pinned Stories

Description coming soon — The framework was conceptualised with smallholder Kichwa agroforestry farmers in Napo, Ecuador. Photo credit: Óscar Luna

A pathway towards equitable co-design with smallholder farmers

New research by the Flourishing Landscapes Programme offers a pathway towards more equitable collaboration between researchers, practitioners and smallholder farmers. The study presents a practical framework for embedding equity within co-design, moving from top-down knowledge transfer to knowledge co-production.

18 August 2026

Groundswell Festival: Sharing Oxford’s Agricultural Research

At Groundswell Regenerative Agriculture Festival, the AGRIIH marquee was a hub for all things agriculture resilience. Researchers from across the University of Oxford showcased agricultural research across disciplines, from soil biodiversity to agricultural policy and beyond.

08 July 2026

Fishbone Deforestation Rondônia, Brazil August 5, 2016 — Fires burning to clear forest for farming and grazing in the Amazon rainforest, Rondônia, Brazil. Credit: Planet Labs, Inc., licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How can action on deforestation strengthen UK food resilience?

Introducing a new research project exploring the link between deforestation and UK food resilience. The UK government’s recent national security assessment highlights the risks of accelerating global ecosystem degradation for UK food security. In collaboration with DEFRA, the project brings together an interdisciplinary team to identify evidence-based policy solutions, funded by the Agile Initiative.

04 June 2026

Pathways to strengthen biodiversity protection in oil palm landscapes

A new study published today in Ecological Solutions and Evidence examines the challenges and solutions for protecting biodiversity within oil palm landscapes. Palm oil is a major global commodity, yet its production can come at significant environmental and social costs. Drawing on practitioner interviews, the study proposes recommendations to strengthen biodiversity protection and social safeguards in oil palm landscapes.

04 February 2026

All News

Apply now to be the NbSI Communications and Outreach Officer

The Nature-based Solutions Initiative (NbSI) in the Department of Biology is seeking a Communications and Outreach Officer. The post holder will promote and share the research and other outputs of the NbSI, e.g. via social media and the NbSI website, translating scientific findings so that they are accessible to decision makers and the general public. […]

01 February 2023

UK government announces details of long-awaited green farming subsidy package for England

Late last week, long awaited details were announced by the UK government about the post-Brexit farm subsidy scheme for England that replaces the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The new program, known as the Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS), focuses on providing “public money for public goods” such as wildlife protection, clean water, climate […]

30 January 2023

Nature-Based Solutions from the Whitehouse Resource Guide Highlight Key Strategies for Climate Adaptation in the US

Prior to COP27 the United States (US) Biden-Harris Administration released a Nature-Based Solutions Roadmap; an outline of strategic recommendations for utilizing nature-based solutions (NbS) to address climate change, nature loss, and inequity in America. Alongside this release they also included the Nature-Based Solutions Resource Guide , which highlights successful NbS case studies from across the […]

25 January 2023

Brazil’s President Lula launches renewed commitments to the environment as he begins his third term in office

On his first day in office Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva issued multiple measures to protect the Amazon and Indigenous people. These policies represent a return to many of Brazil’s previous environmental commitments as well as a renewed and improved dedication to indigenous rights within the country. This is promising news for the […]

18 January 2023

Nature-based solutions can play an important role in reducing vulnerabilities to climate change across the rural Global South

Woroniecki et al. 2022 A new paper by the NbSI team and lead by group member Stephen Woroniecki is out now in the journal Climate and Development, and it evaluates how nature-based solutions(NbS) are increasingly addressing societal challenges while also helping communities adapt to climate change. The article titled, Contributions of nature-based solutions to reducing […]

16 January 2023

Paying farmers to create wetlands and woodlands is the most cost effective way to reach UK environmental targets

Collas et al. 2022 A new study highlighted by the British Ecological Society shows that the most cost-effective way for the UK to reach its environmental goals is to pay farmers to create woodlands and wetlands. The government has made ambitious international commitments to halt and reverse nature declines by 2030 and to reach net […]

12 January 2023

Landmark Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 agreed

The 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) concluded last week with the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, or GBF for short, setting four overarching goals and 23 targets with the mission to take urgent action to “halt and reverse biodiversity loss” by 2030. The COP15 Presidency was […]

24 December 2022

Short-range multispectral imaging is an inexpensive, fast, and accurate approach to estimate biodiversity in a temperate calcareous grassland

Jackson et al. 2022 In a new Ecology and Evolution study, short-range multispectral imaging in a temperate calcareous grassland is demonstrated to provide indicators of grassland biodiversity metrics at high spatial resolution. Image sensing technology developments are improving the cost-effectiveness of biodiversity monitoring efforts, yet logistical difficulties impede broad-scale implementation and use in characterizing biodiversity […]

16 December 2022

CoP15 statement from researchers urges upholding of 2030 targets

Researchers, conservationists, and the public across the world have released a statement to CoP negotiators calling for ambitious goals to ‘Halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity and put nature on a path to recovery by 2030’ to be included in the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) of the Convention on Biological Diversity, being finalised at […]

13 December 2022

UNEP-IUCN-ILO report: Nature-based Solutions could generate 20 million jobs with the right policies

Launched at COP15, the UNEP–IUCN–ILO report, Decent Work in Nature-based Solutions, provides a framework for assessing employment in NbS, with empirical evaluation of current and potential future global employment in NbS for the first time. The report aims to fill knowledge and advocacy gaps on how transitions to a green economy will affect the world […]

13 December 2022

Oxford University and UNEP launch the Nature Positive Universities Alliance

Launched at COP15, the University of Oxford and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), in partnership with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, have founded the Nature Positive Universities Alliance. The Alliance is a growing network of higher education institutions across the world, working together under a pledge to advance efforts to halt, prevent and reverse […]

09 December 2022

Our hopes for COP15

Three members of the NbSI team — Audrey Wagner, Seth Thomas, and Beth Turner — are attending CoP15 in person over the next two weeks. NbSI members have also convened and are leading the first ever Oxford University delegation to a CBD CoP.

06 December 2022

EU Proposal on regulation on deforestation-free products risks neglecting critical ecosystems

Since November 2021, policy makers from across the EU have been negotiating a common position on how it should tackle deforestation caused by imports of key forest-risk commodities such as palm oil, beef, soy, cocoa, coffee and timber. The EU Council´s Ad hoc Working Party on the risk of deforestation and forest degradation associated with […]

05 December 2022

Nature-based Insetting is working with the TNFD and Global Canopy

Nature-based Insetting Ltd applies cutting edge research to help businesses implement nature-based solutions with integrity. NbI achieves this by analysing biodiversity and human wellbeing-related impacts and risks, and then identifying opportunities for lowering risk by implementing nature-based solutions that are effective, net-zero aligned, ecologically sound and socially just. We help our corporate clients develop location […]

05 December 2022

Twitter Archive

As we have moved to BlueSky, our Twitter/X account is no longer active. However, we have provided an archive of our feed.

View Archive

Newsletters

Here you will find all our NbSI Newsletters for you to read online.

Bluesky

View All Bluesky Posts