CONCLUSION This paper argues that making social assumptions explicit early in the NbS design process can help identify uncertainties around local governance, community behaviour, and the distribution and manageability of socio‑economic impacts before they become embedded in the project’s logic. Addressing these uncertainties upstream supports more realistic theories of change, reduces the likelihood of overlooking community‑related risks, and enables the development of engagement and safeguard plans that are better tailored to local contexts. In practice, early design phases often prioritise technical and financial components, which can limit attention to social dynamics that ultimately influence project viability. Strengthening how these considerations are incorporated at this stage is therefore less about adding new tasks and more about ensuring that design decisions are informed by critical questions and context‑specific evidence from the outset. For the industry, this means adopting design practices that help surface assumptions early, allocate attention proportionally to social and ecological drivers of success, and prepare community participation protocols before project decisions are locked in. These adjustments can improve the robustness and credibility of NbS projects. REFERENCES Brockington, D., 2002. Fortress Conservation: The Preservation of the Mkomazi Game Reserve, Tanzania. Oxford: James Currey. Bull, J.W., Gordon, A., Watson, J.E.M. & Maron, M., 2016. Seeking convergence on key concepts in ‘no net loss’ policy. Journal of Applied Ecology, 53(6), pp. 1686-1693. Castree, N., 2020. The environmental humanities in ‘the age of consequences’. Ecocene: A Journal of the Environmental Humanities, 1(1), 12. Cousins, 2024. Just nature-based solutions and the pursuit of climate resilient urban development. Landscape and Urban Planning, 247. Duffy, et al., 2019. Why we must question the militarisation of conservation. Biological Conservation, 232, pp.66-73. Global Goals, 2025. Guardians of the Earth: the essential role of Indigenous Peoples in the protection of natural resources. Greenfield, P. & Benato, M., 2022. Animal populations experience average decline of almost 70% since 1970, report reveals. The Guardian, 13 October. IDOS, 2020. German Institute of Development and Sustainability Nature-based solutions: Don’t forget their social dimension! Bonn: IDOS. IEEP, 2020. Nature and its Role in the Transition to a Green Economy. Institute for European Environmental Policy. IRENA, 2025. Geopolitics of the Energy Transition, The International Renewable Energy Agency. 83
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