The Nature-based Solutions Week in Brazil takes place between March 9 to 13, 2020 in Brasilia (DF), with the objective of disseminating nature-based solutions and stimulating synergies between the different actors working in the area. Involving the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications (MCTIC), the National Water Agency (ANA), Sector Dialogues, the Ministry of Regional Development (MDR) and the Center for Strategic Studies and Management (CGEE), the week includes UrbanByNature sessions on 11th organised by ICLEI SAMS and ICLEI Europe in the framework of the Connecting Nature Project.
The ICLEI-organised sessions will bring together European and Brazilian stakeholders, amongst them the European and local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The UrbanByNature programme will offer the SMEs a platform to share their experiences and lessons learnt with providing nature-based solutions as products and/or services. Nature Based Entrepreneurship (NBE), being a novel concept, will be at the centre of the entire discussions in the workshop of the afternoon on March 11th. SMEs working with NBS will be brought closer to an understanding of the term NBE. Aside from the foundational bit, the audience will also be sensitised to the economic, social and ecological values associated with NBEs as well as the challenges faced by SMEs in providing NBS products and/or services. There will also be a discussion round on the potential of an NBE cluster in Brazil following in the footsteps of the Malaga case, who will present their experiences with their NBS Cluster in Malaga (Spain). As a wrap up and way forward for the NBEs in Brazil, Connecting Nature will make a call for joining the Connecting Nature Enterprise Platform by inviting SMEs to fill in Connecting Nature’s NBE survey.
Last but not the least, in the second half of the afternoon, the UrbanByNature programme will be brought to the fore by Daniela Rizzi from ICLEI Europe, who will highlight what has been achieved so far and talk about the future of the programme and associated opportunities for urban nature pioneers in the context of Brazil.