Table of Contents
The GeoIKP Platform
What does GeoIKP mean?
GeoIKP stands for Geospatial Information Knowledge Platform and serves as a hub for sharing knowledge on Nature-based Solutions (NBS).
What are Nature-based Solutions?
Nature-based Solutions (NBS) are solutions inspired and supported by nature, which are cost-effective, simultaneously provide environmental, social and economic benefits and help build resilience.
What is this platform about?
On the GeoIKP, you can
→ explore and browse Nature-based Solutions around the world, and
→ get guidance through the first steps for starting your own Nature-based Solution project.
Who is behind the GeoIKP?
The GeoIKP was developed within the H2020 OPERANDUM project.
First Navigation
Get inspired! Start browsing Nature-based Solutions around the world:
What is the difference between the NBS Catalogue and Best Practices?
→ The NBS Catalogue offers more than 500 Nature-based Solution case studies which are added to the platform by users. These case studies are presented in a semi-standardised way, thus, you can easily filter them e.g., by flooding. Here you can find more guidance on the NBS Catalogue.
→ The Best Practice selected collection of case studies from the project providing you with more detailed information including risk assessment, information on the implementation of Nature-based Solution, policies, and much more. Here you can find more guidance on Best Practices.
How do you start your own Nature-based Solution project? Follow these steps and get started:
How can these tools help me start my own Nature-based Solution project?
Browse through stories written by citizens and associations that started from similar starting points as you. They talk about how they got started, which challenges they faced and how they eventually overcame these challenges. Here you can find more guidance on the Citizen Stories and also how to share your own story!
You already know the problem/hazard in your area and want to get recommendations for which Nature-based Solution could be suitable for your area? Go to the NBS Toolkit, enter your location and problem/hazard and the toolkit will suggest you possible Nature-based Solutions. Here you can find more guidance on the NBS Toolkit.
You have decided on a Nature-based Solution and try to get funding or permission for it? You will need to consider different legislation and policies. Permitting Paths presents you examples of what you might need to consider to get the permission for building the Nature-based Solution. Here you can find more guidance on the Permitting Paths.
You learnt about potential legislation/policies that you need to consider? Check them out in the Policy Catalogue! Here you can find more guidance on the Policy Catalogue.
Register & Sign-in
Why do I need to register or sign in?
Actually, you don’t need to! But you can get more benefits and features when you do! For example, you can review your added content. It’s getting complicated? First start browsing the platform and think about registering later!
If you decide to register, simply click on the button in the top right corner and sign up:
Actions:
Sign up by entering your details and click on the ‘Register’ button.
Sign in with your email address and password.
If you are not registered yet: click on ‘sign up’ underneath the ‘Sign in’ button to create an account.
NBS Catalogue
Browse Nature-based Solutions around the world!
Where do all these Nature-based Solution case studies come from?
The case studies are all crowdsourced - meaning that any user can add case studies to the NBS Catalogue! Are you aware of any Nature-based Solutions in your area? You can add them to the catalogue by using the tool: Contribute → Add your NBS. Here you can find more guidance on the Add your NBS.
How do you make sure the case studies are of good quality?
All entered Nature-based Solutions are reviewed by OPERANDUM experts. You can see in the top right corner of each solution whether they are reviewed or pending review (see image below).
Actions:
Search and filter the Nature-based Solutions for your needs!
The blue search bar offers to search for and filter Nature-based Solutions.
1. Type your keywords in the search field or select filters for a specific Nature-based Solution Type or Hazard (if you click on the two arrows, you will get more filter options).
2. Select your choice and press the search button.
3. The results will be shown on the map and listed underneath the map.
What do these filters mean?
→ Hazard: hydrometeorological hazards (e.g., flood & drought).
→ Global Challenge: the SDG targets the NBS is tackling (e.g., water management).
→ Policy Level: the level where policies influence the implementation (e.g., local or global).
→ Ecosystem: local landscapes (e.g., forest).
→ NBS Approach: the degree of intervention in nature (e.g., conservation, management).
→ NBS Type: The actual NBS that was chosen to be implemented (e.g., green roof).
Can I share a Nature-based Solution?
Yes, once you have clicked on one Nature-based Solution and you see more information, you find share buttons under the table of content on the left side (see image below). Simply select the social media channel or only ‘Copy NBS link’ and share the solution with your peer!
Can I print the information?
Yes, underneath the share button you find a Print NBS information button which creates a .pdf version for you!
How can I compare different Nature-based Solutions?
1. In the results list, on the bottom of each Nature-based Solution, you find a ✓
2. Click the ✓ of the ones that interest you (up to 5) and the tick will double
3. Click on the orange button (see image below) to compare the selected case studies
4. A new page will open for comparing them
Best Practices
What are Best Practices?
Best Practices are selected esxamples from Nature-based Solutions that were tested in projects. Here, you can find more detailed information location, problems, and how Nature-based Solutions are implemented to solve these problems.
Citizen Stories
How to start a Nature-based Solution project?
Learn from citizens and associations starting their projects, which challenges they faced and which solutions they found:
Interactive Map
Are you looking for information on an area of your interest? For example, which soils are there?
This interactive map offers you a lot of maps to explore! Compare different maps to see whether the are is suitable for your Nature-based Solution. Below you can see the main functions of the interactive map
Actions:
From this box, you can organize your maps. You can make maps invisible, add maps from our catalogue or add your own map. Click on the arrow and hold it for moving maps above or below another map. Click on the tool wheel to get more management options and information on the map.
By clicking on the tool wheel, you get more information and tools for managing one map. Here, you can change the transparency of a map to see two overlaying maps at a time, you can remove maps, you can get more information on the map and see the legend.
To get information about a point of your interest (e.g., to know what the exact population number in the area of a Nature-based Solution is), click on the map icon on the top right corner of the map and then click on the map (the place that interests you).
After selecting a point, a window will pop up presenting the number of the population.
Note: that this tool provides you information on all visible maps. (In the above example, only the population density map is visible.
Use case example:
Open the Interactive Map. At first glance, you can see a map and on the left side you can see which layers are opened at the moment. You want to identify areas with flood potential that are close to your home to find a suitable location for your retention pond.
Step 1: Add maps
At the moment, there are only an NBS and OAL map visible. To add more layers, you can click on the icon in the middle of the layer box and browse the catalogue.
Navigate through the catalogue and add the following layers:
Uncategorized > Global Hydrological Soil Groups
The map global hydrological soil groups describes the characteristics of the soil to take in water (from rainfall). For instance, urban areas with surfaces like roads are able to let water into the soil. If the water cannot infiltrate into the soil it will flow on e.g., the road to lower areas. This process is called surface runoff. On this map you can see which areas are good for infiltrating water and which not.
Risk > Flood > Flood Hazard Map (RP10y)
The flood hazard map presents area that are potentially affected by rivers exceeding their banks. The map you added presents the potential flood water depth for a flooding event that may happens once in 10 years (= RP10y).
Once a layer was added to the interface, the font turns light blue and the layer will be visible on the interface.
Step 2: Remove unnecessary maps
Now, you can organize the layers: remove the layers Open-Air Laboratories and the NBS layer by clicking, firstly, on the wheel next to the layer name and then on the remove button.
Step 3: Zoom in to the location of your interest
Zoom in to the city Leichlingen (where you live) by typing the city name in the search bar.
Step 4: Get familiar with the maps
Click on the wheel of each map to learn more about the maps.
Now you can see the legend of the flood hazard map. By clicking on the information button on the bottom, a box will pop up with more information on the map.
Step 5: Analyze the maps
After familiarizing yourself with the maps, you can change the opacity of the global hydrological soil group map so that you can see the map below presenting the roads and so on.
From the hydrological soil map, you can see that not the entire city has a high surface runoff potential but mostly the center of the city through which a river flows.
From the flood map, you can see the river flood potential for the city.
You know that the River Wupper flows from north to south in this view. Next to the icon, you see that there is a minor flooding potential. To examine this area better, you can hide the hydrological soil map for a moment by clicking on the eye button next to the wheel button.
You can see that the area with the minor flooding potential is close to the green area which can function as water storage area.
Step 6: Identify a suitable area for your Nature-based Solution
Since the north of the city is very rural with water storage areas, you suggest to build the retention pond rather in the center of the city where there is a high runoff and river flood potential. By hiding all layers, you can see that this area is densely built but there area some parks which could gain a retention pond. Adding a retention pond to the park will simultaneously increase the attractiveness of the park.
Step 7: Get more insights with additional maps
Now, you identified a potential location and can continue with an in-depth analysis.
Policy Finder
The Policy Finder provides an overview on existing policies regulating the implementation of a Nature-based Solution. Browse or inspect the collected legislations and policies. Filtering is possible by:
location (local, regional, national) from the map - simply click on the country of your interest;
free text search by typing your key words; or
topic from the mind map.
The results will be shown below the map and mind map. The document can be accessed directly from the window, or it can be explored at the source of information.
Action:
The result list is underneath the map. Each result provides a brief description of the content of the policy, offers the link to metadata (e.g., date of preparation, or which countries it is applicable for). Also, you can download the original document from here and get suggestions for similar policies, related data, and Nature-based Solutions.
Use case example:
You have decided on the most suitable Nature-based Solution to lower the risk of flooding in your village but which legislation do you need to consider? You checked from the example Permitting Paths and read about the European Floods Directive.
Step 1: Filter policy documents
Now, you want to know more about it. Open the Policy Finder and search for ‘directive’.
The results are shown below the map. The Floods Directive is presented with a brief summary. You can click on the file button to download and read the document.
Step 2: Find similar policies for Germany
Click on ‘Show similar policies’ to explore other important EU level policies.
You want to explore more flood related policies for Germany? Remove your directive search and make a new one: click on Germany on the map and from the mind map select hazard, (zoom out a bit) and then flood.
Step 3: Study the policies
Now, you can browse the policies that might affect your Nature-based Solution implementation.
Permitting Paths
A Permitting Path is a path from planning a Nature-based Solution and reviewing all policies and legislations that need to be taken into account until the official permission to implement the planned Nature-based Solution. The permitting path may affect the creation and design process of the Nature-based Solution and cause delays and financial issues leading to critical consequences.
Here, you find information on permitting paths and how they vary depending on different aspects of the project (e.g., location, the hazard, and country). Guidance through potential legislation is provided with an example ‘overall’ path. Not all legislation needs to be considered for every case, therefore, here, you can explore and learn from OPERANDUM’s permitting paths to simplify your path to permission of your Nature-based Solution project.
Use case example:
Step 1: Browse permitting paths
Firstly, you can have a look at Permitting Paths to get an overview on which steps you might have to take into account for getting the permission.
Here, you can see several categories with text and graphs. Environmental legislation explains the procedure of environmental impact assessments that (usually) need to be done before implementing a Nature-based Solution if the NBS changes the surrounding environment significantly. Other legislation such as building legislation might not be applicable if nothing is specifically built (e.g., a measure station). Go through the sections and understand which legislation might need to be taken into account to get permission for your case. If you select a country from the drop down menu you can explore NBS example paths from different countries.
Note: that permitting paths vary greatly depending on the country, the Nature-based Solution to be implemented and the area you want to implement it. Therefore, the examples cannot provide you a step by step guide but rather provide you an overview on what needs to be considered.
Step 2: Find related policy documents
From the permitting paths you understand that for flooding the European Flood Directive is fundamental. Go to the Policy Finder to learn more about this.
NBS Toolkit
Find suitable Nature-based Solutions for an area of your interest. Finding the right Nature-based Solution can be challenging because a lot of different factors need to be taken into consideration. The NBS Toolkit will assist you in identifying the most suitable Nature-based Solution for your challenge.
To get recommendations:
select an area (drawing a rectangular on the map);
a hazard; and
click the ‘analysis’ button.
The toolkit will compute an analysis for the selected area. Based on this analysis, it will recommend suitable Nature-based Solutions. In addition, the system will provide information about the location characteristics, present hazards, and associated socio-ecological risks. All the indicators will be presented as results of the analysis in easy-to-understand graphics. It will also provide detailed information on the Nature-based Solution itself, including a description, benefits, and possible drawbacks.
This tool is a prototype and will experience further development in the near future.
Add your NBS
This crowdsourcing app aims at collecting Nature-based Solutions case studies (which are displayed in the NBS Catalogue). Crowdsourcing means that everyone can contribute and add Nature-based Solution case studies. By now, as part of OPERANDUM, more than 600 Nature-based Solutions around the world were collected. Here, you can add Nature-based Solutions to the catalogue by filling in the form.
You can add Nature-based Solutions without being logged in on the platform. However, only if you register you can edit your added Nature-based Solutions after saving.
Fill in the information page by page.
Click on ‘Next’ to get to the next page.
Click on ‘Back’ to go to the previous page.
On ‘Cancel’ you can delete the entire draft.
‘Save & Exit’ allows you to save the draft and continue it at a later point.
Once you have filled in all required information, you can
Save your NBS;
Save your NBS and add policies that were influencing the implementation of the NBS; or
Save and add datasets presenting the NBS or that you used/produced for pre-assessment, monitoring, or evaluation.
After saving your NBS, the NBS will be reviewed before publishing it in the collection. This process can take several days.
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