Sustainable and smart cities and communities - Nature-based solutions (NBSs) - Vocabulary and principles

Building on the consolidated definitions of NBS, this document proposes a classification of NBS to support the development of an agreed terminology, the basis of the standardization process.

Nachhaltige und intelligente Städte und Gemeinden - Naturbasierte Lösungen (NBSs) - Vokabular und Prinzipien

In diesem Dokument wird, aufbauend auf den konsolidierten Definitionen naturbasierter Lösungen, eine Klassifizierung naturbasierter Lösungen vorgeschlagen, um die Entwicklung einer anerkannten Terminologie zu unterstützen, die die Grundlage des Normungsprozesses ist.

Villes et communautés territoriales durables et intelligentes - Solutions fondées sur la nature (SFN) - Vocabulaire et principes

En se fondant sur les définitions consolidées des SFN, le présent document propose une classification des SFN afin d'aider au développement d'une terminologie faisant l'objet d'un consensus et constituant la base du processus de normalisation.

Trajnostna in pametna mesta in skupnosti - Na naravi temelječe rešitve (NBSs) - Slovar in načela

General Information

Status
Not Published
Publication Date
22-Sep-2025
Current Stage
4020 - Submission to enquiry - Enquiry
Start Date
14-Nov-2024
Due Date
07-May-2024
Completion Date
14-Nov-2024

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SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-januar-2025
Trajnostna in pametna mesta in skupnosti - Na naravi temelječe rešitve (NBSs) -
Slovar in načela
Sustainable and smart cities and communities - Nature-based solutions (NBSs) -
Vocabulary and principles
Nachhaltige und intelligente Städte und Gemeinden - Naturbasierte Lösungen (NBSs) -
Vokabular und Prinzipien
Villes et communautés territoriales durables et intelligentes - Solutions fondées sur la
nature (SFN) - Vocabulaire et principes
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: prEN 18140
ICS:
01.040.13 Okolje. Varovanje zdravja. Environment. Health
Varnost (Slovarji) protection. Safety
(Vocabularies)
13.020.20 Okoljska ekonomija. Environmental economics.
Trajnostnost Sustainability
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

DRAFT
EUROPEAN STANDARD
NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
November 2024
ICS 01.040.13
English Version
Sustainable and smart cities and communities - Nature-
based solutions (NBSs) - Vocabulary and principles
Villes et communautés territoriales durables et Nachhaltige und intelligente Städte und Gemeinden -
intelligentes - Solutions fondées sur la nature (SFN) - Naturbasierte Lösungen (NBSs) - Vokabular und
Vocabulaire et principes Prinzipien
This draft European Standard is submitted to CEN members for enquiry. It has been drawn up by the Technical Committee
CEN/TC 465.
If this draft becomes a European Standard, CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations
which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration.

This draft European Standard was established by CEN in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other
language made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC
Management Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and
United Kingdom.
Recipients of this draft are invited to submit, with their comments, notification of any relevant patent rights of which they are
aware and to provide supporting documentation.

Warning : This document is not a European Standard. It is distributed for review and comments. It is subject to change without
notice and shall not be referred to as a European Standard.

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2024 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. prEN 18140:2024 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
European foreword . 3
Introduction . 4
1 Scope . 5
2 Normative references . 5
3 Terms and definitions . 5
3.1 General. 5
3.2 Terms broadly related to NBS . 5
3.3 Terms describing specific solutions. 13
3.4 Artificial reef NBS management processes and practices . 22
4 Types of classifications applicable . 27
4.1 General. 27
4.2 Classification by societal challenges addressed . 27
4.3 Classification by intervention approach . 28
4.4 Classification by spatial scale . 28
4.5 Classification by stakeholder involvement . 29
Bibliography . 30

European foreword
This document (prEN 18140:2024) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 465 “Sustainable
cities and communities”, the secretariat of which is held by AFNOR.
This document is currently submitted to the CEN Enquiry.
Introduction
At European level the European Commission (EC) released the first document on NBS: Towards an EU
Research and Innovation policy agenda for Nature-Based Solutions and Re-Naturing Cities, in 2015. In this
document the EC identified four goals that can be addressed by nature-based solutions:
— enhancing sustainable urbanisation;
— restoring degraded ecosystems;
— developing climate change adaptation and mitigation;
— Improving risk management and resilience.
In the recent document “EU taxonomy for sustainable activities” has considered as environmental
objectives the following categories: climate change mitigation and adaptation, the sustainable use and
protection of water and marine resources, the transition to a circular economy, pollution prevention and
control, the protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems.
Evaluating the impact of NBS the “Handbook of practitioners” (2021) reported a gap analysis in terms of:
— lack of definition of nature-based solutions (NBS);
— lack of NBS monitoring methodology and implementation stages (longer-term evaluations to assess
NBS effects over time and guaranteeing continuity of monitoring measurements);
— measurability of intangible impacts (e.g. aesthetic enjoyment) and spillovers (impact of NBS
intervention may spread beyond the treated area or group);
— accounting for trade-offs, difficulties in communicating to non-scientific partners the need and the
challenges in a less -technical language.

EC (2021c)
1 Scope
Building on the consolidated definitions of NBS, this document proposes a classification of NBS to support
the development of an agreed terminology, the basis of the standardization process.
2 Normative references
There are no normative references in this document.
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp/
— IEC Electropedia: available at https://www.electropedia.org/
3.1 General
3.1.1
nature-based solution
NBS
action to protect, conserve, restore, sustainably use and manage natural or modified terrestrial,
freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems which addresses social, economic and environmental
challenges effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human well-being, ecosystem
services, resilience and biodiversity benefit
3.2 Terms broadly related to NBS
3.2.1
adaptive management
systematic process of continually improving management policies and practices by learning from the
outcomes of existing programmes
3.2.2
anthropogenic climate change
change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition
of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable
time period
3.2.3
biodiversity
variability among living organisms from all sources including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic
ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part
Note 1 to entry: This includes variation in genetic, phenotypic, phylogenetic, and functional attributes, as well as
changes in abundance and distribution over time and space within and among species, biological communities and
ecosystems.
3.2.4
blue infrastructure
BI
strategically planned network of natural and semi-natural areas with other environmental features
designed and managed to deliver a wide range of ecosystem services such as water purification, water
retention, air quality improvement, space for recreation and climate resilience and adaptation
Note 1 to entry: This network of blue (water) spaces can improve environmental conditions and therefore citizens'
health and quality of life. It also supports a green economy, creates job opportunities and enhances biodiversity.
3.2.5
blue-green network
urban space development concept defining a network of existing and/or restored rivers and their valleys
(blue areas) and green areas (agricultural areas, parks, old orchards, wastelands, degraded areas and
others), as a basis for the spatial planning of cities that will provide sustainable development and
adaptation to global climate change
Note 1 to entry: The network aims to create or preserve key ‘reservoirs’ for biodiversity and to link these through
ecological corridors vital to the free movement of species. Blue-green networks can range from small-scale
endeavours to all-encompassing city plans.
3.2.6
carbon sequestration
process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide
Note 1 to entry: It is one method of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere with the goal of
reducing global climate change
3.2.7
climate adaptation services
benefits to people from increased social ability to respond to climate change, provided by the capacity of
ecosystems to moderate and adapt to climate change and variability
3.2.8
climate change
any change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity
3.2.9
coastal erosion
net landward retreat of the shoreline, as measured relative to a given datum, over a given temporal scale
that is longer than cyclic patterns of coastal variability
3.2.10
conservation
concept used in the context of biodiversity, environment, and natural resources, including protection and
management
Note 1 to entry: It refers to the act of preserving, guarding or protecting, meanwhile keeping in mind the
sustainable character and wise use
3.2.11
conservation areas or protected areas
clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective
means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural
values, including maritime areas, in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources is
limited
3.2.12
cost-benefit analysis
decision tool which judges the desirability of projects by comparing their costs and benefits
3.2.13
cultural heritage conservation
measures taken to extend the life of cultural heritage while strengthening transmission of its significant
heritage messages and values
Note 1 to entry: In the domain of cultural property, the aim of conservation is to maintain the physical and cultural
characteristics of the object to ensure that its value is not diminished and that it will outlive our limited time span
3.2.14
cultural landscape
one of the following three main categories:
— clearly defined landscape designed and created intentionally by man, often built for aesthetics
reasons associated with religious or other monumental buildings and ensembles;
— organically evolved landscape, developed by association with and in response to its natural
environment (a relict, or fossil, landscape or; a continuing landscape is one which retains an active
social role in contemporary society);
— associative cultural landscape with powerful religious, artistic or cultural associations of the natural
element
3.2.15
disaster risk
potential loss of life, injury, destroyed or damaged assets which could occur to a system, society or a
community in a specific period of time, determined probabilistically as a function of hazards, exposure,
vulnerability and capacity
3.2.16
disaster risk reduction
DRR
actions “aimed at preventing new risks and reducing existing ones and managing residual risk, which
contribute to strengthening resilience and therefore to the achievement of sustainable development
objectives”
3.2.17
ecohydrology
EH
understanding of relationships between hydrological and biological processes at different scales to
improve water security, enhance biodiversity and further opportunities for sustainable development by
lessening ecological threats and maximizing greater harmony within catchment processes
3.2.18
ecohydrological nature-based solution
EH-NBS
action enhancing efficiency of hydrotechnical infrastructure, in agricultural and urban landscapes, for
adaptation to the ongoi
...

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