2531 questioning, and testing social assumptions – one that includes robust governance and capacity considerations from the outset. This is a precondition for delivering inclusive and durable outcomes for both people and nature. 2. STEPS FORWARD: PRACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TESTING SOCIAL ASSUMPTIONS IN NBS PROJECT DESIGN Building on this diagnosis, a more systematic and critical approach is recommended to identify, question, and test the key assumptions that underpin NbS project design. This means embedding social analysis and local knowledge at the earliest stages of project development and ensuring that monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) systems are equipped to track whether these assumptions hold true in practice. The recommendations below aim to provide a practical roadmap for project developers and investors to operationalise this approach, drawing on interdisciplinary evidence and best practice. 2.1. Guiding Principles The principles below provide a foundation for integrating social dimensions into NbS design and implementation. Together, they support an adaptative learning approach in which assumptions are treated as testable propositions rather than fixed design inputs, ultimately helping projects reduce risk while improving social and environmental performance. Question assumptions early and often: This entails systematically identifying and interrogating social, cultural, and governance assumptions embedded in the project ToC, early in project design, and treating these assumptions as dynamic and context-dependent rather than fixed or self-evident. Particular attention should be given to assessing critical enabling conditions, including political, social, cultural and economic factors, that underpin the success of project interventions. Where gaps exist, integrating measures into project design to help create a supportive environment should be considered. Local ownership as a prerequisite, not an add-on: Local ownership should always be a foundational element of project design rather than a secondary consideration. This implies co-defining objectives, governance structures, and benefit-sharing mechanisms with local stakeholders and communities before technical decisions are made. Embedding local ownership from the start not only strengthens legitimacy and social viability, but also creates the conditions for continuously testing, challenging, and refining the social assumptions underpinning the project’s theory of change – since those closest to the intervention are best positioned to identify hidden logic gaps, contextual uncertainties, and shifts in social dynamics. Acknowledge and account for interdependencies and trade-offs: Nature-based Solutions must be grounded in a shared understanding of available options, their costs and benefits, and the social and ecological impacts, both positive and negative. This requires a systemic, landscape-level perspective that considers interdependencies between environmental and social dimensions across multiple scales. It is important to recognise that win-win scenarios are extremely difficult to achieve; and that trade-offs and conflicts are inevitable. Effective NbS shift the focus from maximizing efficiency to fostering resilience and multifunctionality across ecosystems, landscapes, and communities. Capacity to navigate uncertainty and complexity: Strong planning abilities as well as locally established implementation capacities are essential for NbS projects to succeed. This includes technical competence, organizational strength, access to resources, the ability to retain expertise over the long term, and robust capacity to mobilize and deploy teams effectively on the ground, including in remote or hard-toaccess areas. Project teams – whether through direct staffing or partnerships – must be equipped to manage interrelated ecological, social, and economic objectives. Leverage interdisciplinary expertise: Involving social scientists, anthropologists, behavioural experts, and local knowledge holders early alongside technical and ecological specialists, helps uncover implicit assumptions and design culturally grounded interventions.
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