Mainstreaming nature-based solutions for sustainable agriculture: linking global evidence to scaling and governance

Abstract

Agriculture plays a significant role in driving greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss. Although nature-based solutions (NbS) in agriculture are recognised as a holistic way to achieve long-term sustainability of food systems and climate goals, global understanding of the drivers and barriers to large-scale implementation of NbS in sustainable agriculture remains limited. Here, we employ sustainable agricultural approaches, as recognised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, as a typology for classifying evidence of NbS implementation in agriculture. We systematically review 171 articles to identify barriers and enablers, including governance, ecological settings, and climate co-benefits, which influence their implementation. While NbS in agriculture offer opportunities for food security, ecosystem services, climate co-benefits, and sustainable development, our analysis reveals that most remain geographically uneven, small-scale, and primarily publicly funded. We identify two main features of the current agricultural NbS landscape: development-driven archetypes, mostly in low- and middle-income countries, that focus on food security and productivity improvement; and post-industrial or social-benefit archetypes in higher- to upper-middle-income countries that emphasise urban agriculture, quality of life, and biodiversity. We found top–down NbS governance and a lack of cross-sector collaboration, which may hinder its scaling. We contend that achieving inclusive and more robust NbS in agriculture necessitates attention to more private financiers, regional context, local governance, and targeted co-benefits.