Nature-Based Solutions as Building Blocks for the Transition towards Sustainable Climate-Resilient Food Systems Keesstra, Saskia Food system transformation Climate change adaptation Ecosystem services Circular food systems This paper is the output of a project of the Knowledge-based Programme of the Wageningen University called ‘Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Resilient and Circular Food Systems’. The authors would like to acknowledge funding from the Wageningen University & Research ‘Food Secu- rity and Valuing Water programme’ (KB-35-007-002) and Circular and Climate Neutral’ programme’ (KB-34-007-010), which is supported by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Security. Food systems—encompassing food production, transportation, processing and consump- tion, including food losses and waste—are currently not delivering what is expected or needed to ensure their full contribution to societal well-being and ecological sustainability. In this paper, we hypothesize that nature-based solutions (NBS; solutions that are inspired by, supported by, or copied from nature) can overcome system challenges related to the functioning of the biosphere, society, or economy (including governance arrangements), and support a transition to sustainable climate-resilient food systems. We develop a conceptual framework to assess NBS contributions to such transitions. Three types of NBS are evaluated: intrinsic NBS which make use of existing ecosystems; hybrid NBS which manage and adapt ecosystems; and inspired NBS which consist of newly constructed ecosystems. We show that inspired NBS in particular will increase opportunities to achieve sustainable development in food systems. NBS can facilitate the much-needed transi- tion to a different way of using our natural resources to reach the SDGs by 2030. We identify the knowledge gaps that impede the development of NBS to support a transition towards sustainable, climate-resilient food systems. 2023-05-17T10:38:19Z 2023-05-17T10:38:19Z 2023-03-02 info:eu-repo/semantics/article Keesstra, S.; Veraart, J.; Verhagen, J.; Visser, S.; Kragt, M.; Linderhof, V.; Appelman, W.; van den Berg, J.; Deolu-Ajayi, A.; Groot, A. Nature-Based Solutions as Building Blocks for the Transition towards Sustainable Climate-Resilient Food Systems. Sustainability 2023, 15, 4475. [https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054475] https://hdl.handle.net/10481/81617 doi.org/10.3390/su15054475 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Atribución 4.0 Internacional MDPI