Co-creating strategies to implement nature-based solutions to manage flood and drought risk: Insights from the GEUL basin, the Netherlands

Nature-based solutions (NbS) address climate change while delivering multiple benefits. However, stakeholders value these benefits differently, and ignoring these differences and trade-offs risks broader acceptance and long-term sustainability. To address this, we introduce a novel approach that sequentially applies multi-criteria analysis (MCA) and adaptation pathways (AP) to co-develop NbS strategies with diverse stakeholders in the Geul basin. This sequential combination proved mutually reinforcing: MCA revealed competing values and trade-offs associated with NbS that informed the AP discussions, while AP added the temporality and feasibility MCA alone could not capture. As stakeholders' interests and risk experiences shape their preferences, developing a shared narrative around NbS emerges as the important first step to ensure legitimacy and ownership. Results also show that effectiveness does not necessarily translate into social feasibility. Successful NbS implementation depends on fair and sustainable financing mechanisms, policy integration, and land ownership arrangements.