Assessing nature-based solutions for transformative change

Enhancing the transformative potential of sustainability innovations: An application of the values-rules-knowledge framework

To respond to global sustainability challenges with transformative solutions, there is a need to pinpoint the necessary and sufficient conditions that enhance the transformative potential of sustainability innovations. To this end, we examined 129 sustainability innovations in two European Biosphere Reserves, and analysed (1) their transformative potential, assessed based on a leverage points perspective, and (2) their supportive conditions (i.e. decision contexts, or constellations of values, rules and knowledge). Specifically, we used social network analyses to characterise different rules, or governance arrangements in the two Biosphere Reserves. By comparing the decision contexts of transformative and incremental innovations, we provide empirical evidence that plural values, coproduction and networks that are diverse, collaborative and influential, enable transformative innovations. Shallow leverage points seem insufficient but necessary to operationalise transformative change. Future research should explore the co-evolution of decision contexts and transformative potential, to better understand how to shift incremental to transformative innovations.

Business-as-usual trends will largely miss 2030 global conservation targets

To address climate change and global biodiversity loss, the world must hit three important international conservation targets by 2030: protect 30% of terrestrial and marine areas, halt and reverse forest loss, and restore 350 Mha of degraded and deforested landscapes. Here, we (1) provide estimates of the gaps between these globally agreed targets and business-as-usual trends; (2) identify examples of rapid past trend-shifts towards achieving the targets; and (3) link these past trend-shifts to different levers. Our results suggest that under a business-as-usual scenario, the world will fail to achieve all three targets. However, trend-shifts that rapidly "bend the curve" have happened in the past and these should therefore be fostered. These trend-shifts are linked to transformative change levers that include environmental governance, economic factors, values, and knowledge. Further research on trend-shifts, as well as bold action on underlying levers, is urgently needed to meet 2030 global conservation targets.

Can dry rivers provide a good quality of life? Integrating beneficial and detrimental nature's contributions to people over time

Although dry rivers only flow after heavy rainfall, recent studies have evidenced that they provide benefits to people. However, part of society undervalues these benefits, raising the question of whether they contribute to a good quality of life (GQL). We hypothesised that the benefits of dry rivers contribute to GQL of local communities as long as these benefits are not altered by human disturbance. Local communities closely associated with three dry rivers in Murcia (Spain) were interviewed. The relationships between benefits and GQL, and between detriments and GQL were described. Different benefits and detriments have different impacts on GQL dimensions. Social perceptions of the contribution of benefits and detriments to GQL vary between communities and individuals, and change over time. This implies the development of social studies to ensure inclusive management. Incorporating detriment co-production into research can raise people's awareness of the role that human activities play in maintaining GQL.

Intertwined people-nature relations are central to nature-based adaptation to climate change

Adaptation to climate change is a social-ecological process: it is not solely a result of natural processes or human decisions but emerges from multiple relations within social systems, within ecological systems and between them. We propose a novel analytical framework to evaluate social-ecological relations in nature-based adaptation, encompassing social (people-people), ecological (nature-nature) and social-ecological (people-nature) relations. Applying this framework to 25 case studies, we analyse the associations among these relations and identify archetypes of social-ecological adaptation. Our findings revealed that adaptation actions with more people-nature relations mobilize more social and ecological relations. We identified four archetypes, with distinct modes of adaptation along a gradient of people-nature interaction scores, summarized as: (i) nature control; (ii) biodiversity-based; (iii) ecosystem services-based; and (iv) integrated approaches. This study contributes to a nuanced understanding of nature-based adaptation, highlighting the importance of integrating diverse relations across social and ecological systems. Our findings offer valuable insights for informing the design and implementation of adaptation strategies and policies.This article is part of the discussion meeting issue 'Bending the curve towards nature recovery: building on Georgina Mace's legacy for a biodiverse future'.

Designing nature to be a solution for climate change in cities: A meta-analysis

Nature-based solutions (NbS) are designed as a win-win strategy to address societal challenges while providing biodiversity, social, and economic benefits. However, uncertainties and gaps persist, particularly regarding the criteria that define a NbS measure and the specific requirements for a solution to be fully recognized as such, which limit the full potential of these strategies in practice. Another persistent issue is the lack of data on strategy responses across different implementation scales (local, city, regional) and climatic zones (temperate, arid, tropical). This article provides an overview of the potential of NbS to promote climate adaptation in cities. Our meta-analysis, which compiled 7163 records from 89 articles worldwide, indicates that integrating NbS strategies with traditional approaches (gray infrastructure and sustainable technologies) is the most effective response to concurrently address multiple climate-related hazards. Flooding had the highest impact at 35.7 %, followed by increased runoff at 30.5 %. Peak flow and water pollution both had an impact of 10.3 %, while temperature increase accounted for 5.7 %, and decreases in thermal comfort made up 5.0 %. We concluded that all evaluated strategies reduced the impact of climate-related hazards, but this reduction was twice as large when incorporating NbS (18.6 % vs 8.1 %). We also demonstrate that this effect is observed under projected climate scenarios, reinforcing the role of NbS in making cities more resilient and sustainable.

Assessment of nature-based solutions for water resource management in agricultural environments: a stakeholders' perspective in Southern Italy

This paper explores the potential implementation of Nature-Based Solutions (NBSs) in agriculture, specifically focusing on soil and water management in Southern Italy, particularly in the Apulia and Basilicata regions. Through a tailored questionnaire, it investigates farmers' perceptions of the utility of NBSs, addressing key issues in the region and evaluating their role in addressing soil and water management challenges. Findings reveal primary challenges such as drought, floods, and water pollution, with soil erosion being a major concern. Several NBSs, including wetlands and bioswales, demonstrate consistent utility and performance, while disparities exist for agroforestry and strip cropping. The study underscores a significant gap in the economic valuation of NBSs, emphasizing the need for comprehensive assessments that incorporate livability improvements, water quality enhancement, and socio-cultural benefits. Additionally, an analysis of NBS implementation across Italian agriculture reveals limited case studies, suggesting the need for strategic expansions to meet Sustainable Development Goals. This research offers critical insights into the effectiveness and challenges of NBSs in agricultural soil and water management, advocating for enhanced stakeholder engagement and the development of multidimensional evaluation frameworks to support sustainable practices.

Using the Red List of Ecosystems and the Nature-based Solutions Global Standard as an integrated process for climate change adaptation in the Andean high mountains

Under anthropogenic pressures and climate change, most ecosystems are showing signs of reduced resilience. Unfortunately, some are more at risk of collapse and, without interventions, they may lose biodiversity, ecological integrity and ecosystem services. Here, we describe two tools that were developed under the auspices of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the Red List of Ecosystems and the Nature-based Solutions Global Standard, and their capacity to first identify the ecosystems at risk of collapse in a nation and then develop solutions based on nature to improve their resilience. Nature-based solutions include, for example ecosystem-based adaptation, where solutions are developed to meet the needs of the local people while protecting nature to ensure greater resilience of the social-ecological system, not only the natural ecosystem. We discuss through a case study in the Andean high mountains and páramo social-ecological system how these approaches have been used in Colombia. We then discuss lessons learned and challenges that may reduce the capacity of a community to initiate such interventions, such as national policies and funding restrictions. We also discuss through another early case in Ecuador the importance to adapt these types of interventions to the geographical and cultural context of the social-ecological systems. This article is part of the theme issue 'Bringing nature into decision-making'.

From urban ecology to urban enquiry: How to build cumulative and context-sensitive understandings

This paper positions urban ecology as increasingly conversant with multiple perspectives and methods for understanding the functions and qualities of diverse cities and urban situations. Despite progress in the field, we need clear pathways for positioning, connecting and synthesising specific knowledge and to make it speak to more systemic questions about cities and the life within them. These pathways need to be able to make use of diverse sources of information to better account for the diverse relations between people, other species and the ecological, social, cultural, economic, technical and increasingly digital structures that they are embedded in. Grounded in a description of the systemic knowledge needed, we propose five complementary and often connected approaches for building cumulative systemic understandings, and a framework for connecting and combining different methods and evidence. The approaches and the framework help position urban ecology and other fields of study as entry points to further advance interdisciplinary synthesis and open up new fields of research.

Harnessing the runoff reduction potential of urban bioswales as an adaptation response to climate change

Nature-based solutions (NbS), including China's Sponge City Program (SCP), can address the challenges urban communities face due to surface runoff and flooding. The current capacity of SCP facilities in urban environments falls short of meeting the demands placed on communities by climate change. Bioswales are a form of SCP facility that plays an important role in reducing surface runoff by promoting infiltration. This study assesses the potential of SCP facilities to reduce runoff in urban communities under climate change using the storm water management model. The study site in Ningbo, China, was used to evaluate the potential role of bioswales in reducing runoff risks from climate change. We found that bioswales were most effective in scenarios when rainfall peaks occurred early and were less effective in right-skewed rainfall events. The overall performance of SCP facilities was similar across all climate scenarios. To maintain the current protection level of SCP facilities, bioswales would need to cover at least 4% of the catchment area. These findings from Ningbo provide a useful method for assessing NbS in other regions and indicative values for the increase in the bioswale coverage needed to adapt to climate change.

A transboundary agenda for nature-based solutions across sectors, scales and disciplines: Insights from carbon projects in Southeast Asia

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are integral to efforts to keep global warming below 2°C in accordance with the United Nations' 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Yet the transboundary governance dimensions of NbS remain unclear and largely undocumented. In Southeast Asia, NbS have emphasised the conservation and/ or sustainable commodification of carbon sinks found in terrestrial and mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, peatlands and agricultural soils. Mostly project-driven and fixed-term, these "solutions" have often failed to meet their social and ecological objectives. Increasingly, they have added to cross-border problems of: (1) displaced carbon emissions; and (2) economic migration and societal dispossession. This perspective paper delineates a transboundary governance research agenda to mitigate these trade-offs and enhance the co-benefits of NbS in carbon sinks. Building on NbS literature, it identifies cross-sector, multi-scalar and interdisciplinary pathways to improve transboundary cooperation, inclusion and equity in carbon sink governance in varying Southeast Asian contexts.

Mainstreaming nature-based solutions through five forms of scaling: Case of the Kiiminkijoki River basin, Finland

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are considered as means to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss while simultaneously enhancing human well-being. Yet, it is still poorly understood how NBS could be mainstreamed. We address this gap by proposing a framework on NBS and employing it in Finland's Kiiminkijoki River basin through participatory workshops and a questionnaire. We examine socio-environmental challenges and visions, existing and emerging NBS to reach the visions, and ways to scale-up NBS to a river basin level. In the river basin, water quality is the priority challenge, due to its relationships with local culture, climate change, and biodiversity. Our results consider how (1) to ensure the relevance of NBS for local actors, (2) instrumental, intrinsic, and relational value perspectives can be enhanced simultaneously by NBS, and (3) site specific NBS can be mainstreamed (i.e., by scaling up, down, out, in, deep) to the river basin level and beyond.

Evolution and sustainability: gathering the strands for an Anthropocene synthesis

How did human societies evolve to become a major force of global change? What dynamics can lead societies on a trajectory of global sustainability? The astonishing growth in human population, economic activity and environmental impact has brought these questions to the fore. This theme issue pulls together a variety of traditions that seek to address these questions using different theories and methods. In this Introduction, we review and organize the major strands of work on how the Anthropocene evolved, how evolutionary dynamics are influencing sustainability efforts today, and what principles, strategies and capacities will be important to guide us towards global sustainability in the future. We present a set of synthetic insights and highlight frontiers for future research efforts which could contribute to a consolidated synthesis. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolution and sustainability: gathering the strands for an Anthropocene synthesis'.

Assessing evidence on the impacts of nature-based interventions for climate change mitigation: a systematic map of primary and secondary research from subtropical and tropical terrestrial regions

BACKGROUND

Nature-based interventions (NbIs) for climate change mitigation include a diverse set of interventions aimed at conserving, restoring, and/or managing natural and modified ecosystems to improve their ability to store and sequester carbon and avoid greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Recent projections estimate that terrestrial NbIs can lead to more than one-third of the climate change mitigation necessary to meet the Paris Climate Agreement by 2030. Further, these interventions can provide co-benefits in the form of social and ecological outcomes. Despite growing recognition of the potential benefits, a clear characterization of the distribution and occurrence of evidence which supports linkages between different types of NbIs and outcomes for climate change mitigation, ecosystems, and people remains poorly understood.

METHODS

This systematic map assesses the evidence base on the links between NbIs and climate change mitigation, social, and ecological outcomes in tropical and subtropical terrestrial regions. We searched three bibliographic databases, 65 organization websites, and conducted backward citation chasing within 39 existing evidence syntheses to identify relevant articles. Additionally, we reached out to key informants for additional sources of evidence. We then used machine learning to rank returned results by relevance at the title and abstract stage and manually screened for inclusion using predefined criteria at the title, abstract, and full text stages. We extracted relevant meta-data from included articles using an a priori coding scheme. Lastly, we conducted a targeted, complementary search to identify relevant review and synthesis articles to provide broader context for the findings of the systematic map.

REVIEW FINDINGS

We included 948 articles in this systematic map. Most of the evidence base (56%) examined links between protection, natural resource management, and restoration interventions with changes to 'proxy' outcomes for climate change mitigation (changes to land condition, land cover, and/or land use). Other areas with high occurrence of articles included linkages between interventions within natural resource management and trees in croplands categories and changes to aboveground carbon storage and/or sequestration (17% of articles). A key knowledge gap was on measured changes in GHG emissions across all intervention types (6% of articles). Overall, articles in the evidence base did not often assess changes in co-benefits alongside direct or indirect changes for climate change mitigation (32%). In most cases, the evidence base contained studies which did not explicitly test for causal linkages using appropriate experimental or quasi-experimental designs.

CONCLUSIONS

The evidence base for NbIs is significant and growing; however, key gaps in knowledge hamper the ability to inform ongoing and future investment and implementation at scale. More comprehensive evidence is needed to support causal inference between NbIs and direct outcomes for climate change mitigation to better determine additionality, permanence, leakage, and other unintended consequences. Similarly, priorities emerging from this map include the need for coordinated and harmonized efforts to collect diverse data types to better understand whether and how other outcomes (e.g. social, ecological) of NbIs can be achieved synergistically with mitigation objectives. Understanding potential benefits and trade-offs of NbIs is particularly urgent to inform rapidly expanding carbon markets for nature.

Agroecology, technology, and stakeholder awareness: Implementing the UN Food Systems Summit call for action

The global food system must meet the increasing demand for food, fiber, and energy while reducing environmental impacts. The UN Food System Summit (UNFSS) has made a clear call to action for a global food systems transformation. We argue that three major discrepancies remain, potentially delaying the urgent implementation of the call to action. First, Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are not sufficiently focused on agriculture, leading to funding allocation issues. Second, a mismatch of agroecology with technology innovations may slow scaling agroecological farming. Lastly, agricultural diversification must move beyond organic landscapes and into conventional agriculture. As a solution, principles of NbS should be clear on agricultural integration. Moreover, stakeholder awareness must increase that agroecology does not necessarily conflict with agricultural technologies. Future agricultural models must apply measures such as agricultural diversification in conjunction with technology innovations to then ascertain an overall timely and successful implementation of the UNFSS call to action.

The heterogeneity-diversity-system performance nexus

Ever-growing human population and nutritional demands, supply chain disruptions, and advancing climate change have led to the realization that changes in diversity and system performance are intimately linked. Moreover, diversity and system performance depend on heterogeneity. Mitigating changes in system performance and promoting sustainable living conditions requires transformative decisions. Here, we introduce the heterogeneity-diversity-system performance (HDP) nexus as the conceptual basis upon which to formulate transformative decisions. We suggest that managing the heterogeneity of systems will best allow diversity to provide multiple benefits to people. Based on ecological theory, we pose that the HDP nexus is broadly applicable across systems, disciplines, and sectors, and should thus be considered in future decision making as a way to have a more sustainable global future.

The effects of nature-based interventions on individuals' environmental behaviors: protocol for a systematic review of controlled trials

Background

The paper presents the rationale and methods of the planned systematic review to understand the effects of nature-based interventions on individuals' environmental behaviors. There is ample evidence that experiences in nature not only enhance human well-being but also help promote people's pro-environmentalism. Nevertheless, synthesized evidence regarding the effects of nature-based interventions on individuals' environmental behaviors is lacking.

Methods

This protocol follows the Preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA-P) guidelines. The planned literature search will be conducted by using APA PsycInfo, APA PsyArticles, PubMed, ERIC, Education Source, GreenFILE, OpenDissertations, Scopus, and WEB of Science. In the protocol, we present search strategies for each specific database. Data items that we will seek to obtain from the selected publications are described in detail and cover general information about included studies, information about studies' methodology and participants, outcomes of the studies, and nature-based and comparative interventions. The outcomes will be behavioral, including aggregated and specific types of environmental behaviors, as well as reported and observed behaviors. Furthermore, the protocol provides a description of the prospective assessment of the risk of bias in both randomized and non-randomized studies. If studies appear sufficiently homogeneous, we will conduct a meta-analysis using the inverse-variance method. Details of the data synthesis are likewise provided in the paper.

Results

Dissemination of the results of the planned review will be carried out via a peer-reviewed open-access journal publication.

Implications

Given the great need to address current environmental issues, understanding what encourages people to act pro-environmentally is critical. It is expected that the findings of the planned review will provide valuable insights for researchers, educators, and policymakers who are involved in understanding and promoting human environmental behaviors.

Overcoming the coupled climate and biodiversity crises and their societal impacts

Earth's biodiversity and human societies face pollution, overconsumption of natural resources, urbanization, demographic shifts, social and economic inequalities, and habitat loss, many of which are exacerbated by climate change. Here, we review links among climate, biodiversity, and society and develop a roadmap toward sustainability. These include limiting warming to 1.5°C and effectively conserving and restoring functional ecosystems on 30 to 50% of land, freshwater, and ocean "scapes." We envision a mosaic of interconnected protected and shared spaces, including intensively used spaces, to strengthen self-sustaining biodiversity, the capacity of people and nature to adapt to and mitigate climate change, and nature's contributions to people. Fostering interlinked human, ecosystem, and planetary health for a livable future urgently requires bold implementation of transformative policy interventions through interconnected institutions, governance, and social systems from local to global levels.

Public authorities for transformative change: integration principle in public funding

Although science widely supports moving towards transformative change through integrating biodiversity into decision-making, and arguing for the essential role of public authorities, it falls short on suggesting specific means to that end. This article considers the EU's approach to fostering the green transition as part of its post-pandemic recovery while exploring how the integration of biodiversity considerations could be integrated into decision-making. The rationale and implementation of the EU's do no harm principle is examined, which functioned as a condition for public funds. The analysis shows the mentioned EU policy innovation has a very limited impact. The role of do no harm has been limited to validating, rather than initiating policy measures. It has failed to influence the design of measures such that they would benefit biodiversity and not encouraged synergies between the climate and biodiversity goals. Based on the experience with do no harm as well as the more focussed regulatory action directed at the goal of climate neutrality, the article lists key steps for fostering biodiversity integration in policy planning and policy implementation. These steps encompass substantive and procedural approaches and aim for deliberation, target-setting, tracking, verification and screening. There is considerable scope for robust regulation to play a role in support of the biodiversity goals alongside transformative bottom-up initiatives.

From COVID-19 to Green Recovery with natural capital accounting

The COVID-19 pandemic and related social and economic emergencies induced massive public spending and increased global debt. Economic recovery is now an opportunity to rebuild natural capital alongside financial, physical, social and human capital, for long-term societal benefit. Yet, current decision-making is dominated by economic imperatives and information systems that do not consider society's dependence on natural capital and the ecosystem services it provides. New international standards for natural capital accounting (NCA) are now available to integrate environmental information into government decision-making. By revealing the effects of policies that influence natural capital, NCA supports identification, implementation and monitoring of Green Recovery pathways, including where environment and economy are most positively interlinked.

Transformative adaptation through nature-based solutions: a comparative case study analysis in China, Italy, and Germany

This paper explores how claims for transformative adaptation toward more equitable and sustainable societies can be assessed. We build on a theoretical framework describing transformative adaptation as it manifests across four core elements of the public-sector adaptation lifecycle: vision, planning, institutional frameworks, and interventions. For each element, we identify characteristics that can help track adaptation as transformative. Our purpose is to identify how governance systems can constrain or support transformative choices and thus enable targeted interventions. We demonstrate and test the usefulness of the framework with reference to three government-led adaptation projects of nature-based solutions (NBS): river restoration (Germany), forest conservation (China), and landslide risk reduction (Italy). Building on a desktop study and open-ended interviews, our analysis adds evidence to the view that transformation is not an abrupt system change, but a dynamic complex process that evolves over time. While each of the NBS cases fails to fulfill all the transformation characteristics, there are important transformative elements in their visions, planning, and interventions. There is a deficit, however, in the transformation of institutional frameworks. The cases show institutional commonalities in multi-scale and cross-sectoral (polycentric) collaboration as well as innovative processes for inclusive stakeholder engagement; yet, these arrangements are ad hoc, short-term, dependent on local champions, and lacking the permanency needed for upscaling. For the public sector, this result highlights the potential for establishing cross-competing priorities among agencies, cross-sectoral formal mechanisms, new dedicated institutions, and programmatic and regulatory mainstreaming.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10113-023-02066-7.

Harnessing the potential of nature-based solutions for mitigating and adapting to climate change

Although many governments, financial institutions, and corporations are embracing nature-based solutions as part of their sustainability and net-zero carbon strategies, some nations, Indigenous peoples, local community groups, and grassroots organizations have rejected this term. This pushback is fueled by (i) critical uncertainties about when, where, how, and for whom nature-based solutions are effective and (ii) controversies surrounding their misuse in greenwashing, violations of human rights, and threats to biodiversity. To clarify how the scientific community can help address these issues, I provide an overview of recent research on the benefits and limits of nature-based solutions, including how they compare with technological approaches, and highlight critical areas for future research.

Effects of Long-Term Land Use and Land Cover Changes on Ecosystem Service Values: An Example from the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia

Changes in land use and land cover (LULC) are the leading contributors to the decline and loss of ecosystem services in the world. The present study covered the Central Rift Valley lakes basin in Ethiopia, focusing on the valley floor and the East and West escarpments, to analyze changes in LULC and to estimate associated losses in ecosystem service values (ESVs). Covering both upstream and downstream areas in the basin, the study addressed major gaps in existing studies by connecting the sources and sinks of material (e.g., sediment and water) in source-to-lake systems. Additionally, the study facilitated the identification of critical areas for conserving natural resources and reversing the decline of associated ESVs in the Central Rift Valley. A post-classification comparison approach was used to detect LULC changes between 1973 and 2020 using four Landsat images from 1973, 1990, 2005 and 2020. The value transfer valuation method was used to estimate the changes in ESVs due to LULC changes. Among the seven major identified LULC classes, farmlands, settlements, and bare lands showed positive changes, while forestlands, grasslands, shrublands and waterbodies showed negative changes over the last 47 years. The expansion of farmlands, for example, has occurred at the expense of grasslands, forestlands and shrublands. The changes in LULC over a period of 47 years resulted in a total loss of US $62,110.4 × 106 in ESVs. The contributors to the overall loss of ESVs in decreasing order are provisioning services (US $33,795.1 × 106), cultural services (US $28,981.5 × 106) and regulating services (US $652.9 × 106). The results imply that addressing the degradation of land and water resources is crucial to reversing the loss of ecosystem services and achieving the national Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to food and water security (SDGs 2 and 6) and life on land (SDG 15).

Integrating nature-based solutions in flood risk management plans: A matter of individual beliefs?

The formulation of management plans as required by EU environmental policies such as the Floods Directive may facilitate the uptake of nature-based solutions (NBS) into practice. Previous research has indicated that the uptake of NBS in water management plans is still low and hindered by various elements of the existing water governance system. However, research so far neglected the role of water managers as "plan-makers" of solution strategies and programs of measures, as well as their beliefs in choosing certain measures in the plan-making process. The aim of this study is to shed more light on the plan-makers' reasoning for integrating, or not integrating, NBS into specific flood risk management plans (FRMPs). We conducted ten qualitative interviews with plan-makers from Germany and adopted a grounded theory approach to identify their beliefs that underlie the process of formulating FRMPs as well as their perceived role in this process. The analysis reveals a dominance of shared substantive and relational beliefs that are obstructive to a greater uptake of NBS in FRMPs. In particular, identified beliefs about NBS often do not align with their self-perception of their role in being the "plan-makers". We present a differentiated portrait of water managers as key actors in the decision-making on FRMPs, illustrating that while water managers are belonging to the same distinct professional group with a similar social role in the decision-making process, they do not necessarily share the same preferences.