Nature-Based Solutions Initiative at the British Ecological Society Annual Meeting 2024
At the British Ecological Society’s Annual Meeting, the Nature-Based Solutions Initiative (NbSI) took centre stage. Professor Nathalie Seddon, Director of NbSI, delivered the prestigious Georgina Mace Lecture, highlighting the need for an eco-centric approach that integrates ecological science with Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) December 22, 2024
We are pleased to share highlights from the British Ecological Society’s Annual Meeting, where the Nature-Based Solutions Initiative (NbSI) was prominently featured. Professor Nathalie Seddon, Director of NbSI, delivered the opening Georgina Mace Lecture and was honoured with the Marsh Prize for Ecology, in recognition of her pioneering work on nature-based solutions (NbS).
Georgina Mace Lecture ‘Advancing an eco-centric approach’
In her lecture, Nathalie paid tribute to Georgina Mace’s enduring legacy. Best known for her role in developing the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and for her visionary paper “Whose Conservation?”, Georgina challenged traditional ideas about why and for whom we protect nature. This thinking strongly influenced the founding of NbSI, which unites ecological research, policy, and practice to embed biodiversity and equity at the heart of climate and development strategies.
Integrating ecology and ILK for systemic change
Nathalie explored how integrating ecological science with Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) can drive systemic change through nature-based solutions. Although NbS have gained policy traction worldwide, they often end up as carbon-focused, technocratic fixes that reinforce extractive economic systems. To move beyond these limitations, she emphasised the importance of applying ecological principles—systems thinking, resilience, and adaptive management—and relational values rooted in ILK: Relationality, Reciprocity, Responsibility, and Redistribution.
Nathalie also presented a shift from the traditional framing of “nature for people” to seeing “people as nature,” an eco-centric perspective that recognises humans as part of, rather than separate from, the ecosystems on which we depend. Through illustrative case studies, she showed how combining science and ILK can yield regenerative projects that restore both ecosystems and human-nature relationships. She concluded with a call for more collaboration among scientists, ILK holders, and policymakers to co-design solutions that can address today’s intertwined ecological and social crises.
Scotland’s Caledonian pine forests: Emily Warner’s insights
NbSI researcher Emily Warner presented new findings on the status of Scotland’s Caledonian pine forests, in collaboration with the charity Trees for Life and its Caledonian Pinewood Recovery Project. Data from 72 pinewood remnants reveals that 23% of these forests are critically threatened. An assessment of tree species richness and forest age structure showed that high browsing by deer significantly reduces tree diversity—on average, one species is removed from the future tree community when browsing levels are unchecked.
Fencing to exclude deer can lessen herbivore impacts on young trees, but there remains a 50% probability of high browsing even within fenced sites. Notably, in the eastern pinewoods, where landscape-scale deer management is more effective, there is little difference between fenced and unfenced sites—highlighting the potential for better deer management as an alternative to fencing.
Peatland restoration: Xiao’s climate findings
NbSI’s Xiao presented on peatland restoration and its climate implications. Although peatlands cover about 12% of the UK’s land area, 78% have been degraded through human activity, causing significant carbon dioxide emissions from drying organic soils. Restoration by rewetting reverses this trend, turning peatlands back into carbon-accumulating ecosystems. While methane emissions may rise initially following restoration, Xiao’s analysis—using emissions data shared by The Wildlife Trusts—found that even in the near-term, the reduction in carbon dioxide outweighs any increase in methane.
This means that restoring peatlands has already delivered substantial emission reductions, and further restoration aimed at boosting biodiversity and ecological health is expected to reinforce long-term climate benefits. These findings offer a valuable case study that underscores the importance of peatland restoration projects for both climate mitigation and ecosystem recovery.
Looking ahead
Nathalie’s keynote and the wider NbSI research presented at the meeting demonstrated the transformative potential of nature-based solutions that combine strong ecological foundations with Indigenous and Local Knowledge. This approach not only restores habitats and mitigates climate change but also redefines our relationship with the natural world, embracing an understanding of people and nature as one.