SYNERGY BETWEEN NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS IN TOURISM AND COMMUNITY SUSTAINABILITY AND WELL-BEING
Abstract
This article explores the synergistic relationship between Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in tourism and the enhancement of socio-ecological resilience and community well-being. In the context of global climate change, environmental degradation, and the devastating impacts of armed conflict in Ukraine, NbS represent a transformative approach that shifts tourism from a resource-intensive industry to a driver of ecosystem restoration and sustainable development. Based on a systematic literature review the study synthesizes evidence from high-impact journals and international reports. It demonstrates that NbS deliver a triple-win outcome: biodiversity conservation, economic benefits, and social inclusiveness. Particular attention is devoted to the post-war reconstruction of Ukrainian Polissia — a region rich in wetlands, peatlands, and forests severely affected by historical drainage, climate risks, and wartime damage. The analysis examines key NbS applications adapted to Polissia’s conditions: renaturalization of peatlands and river floodplains, passive restoration, close-to-nature forestry, and low-impact tourism infrastructure (elevated boardwalks and ecoducts). These solutions are compared with conventional «gray» infrastructure, showing clear advantages in lower capital and maintenance costs, higher climate adaptability, and multiple co-benefits such as carbon sequestration, water purification, flood regulation, and enhanced recreational opportunities. The paper establishes a direct link between healthy ecosystem services and improved mental and physical well-being of local communities. Restored natural areas serve as therapeutic landscapes for nature therapy, veteran rehabilitation, and health-oriented tourism. Special focus is placed on governance challenges, emphasizing the need for community co-management and overcoming institutional fragmentation between forestry, water management, and tourism sectors. The findings confirm that integrating NbS into spatial planning and tourism strategies enables a shift from reactive post-crisis recovery to proactive “nature-positive” development. For Ukrainian Polissia, this model offers a pathway to long-term resilience, green job creation, economic diversification, and the transformation of environmental constraints into unique tourism assets. Overall, nature-oriented tourism grounded in NbS principles proves to be an effective strategy for addressing the intertwined challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and post-war recovery in vulnerable regions.
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Seddon N. et al. (2020). Understanding the value and limits of nature-based solutions to climate change. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 375(1794). https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0120
Sowińska-Świerkosz B., García J. (2021). A new evaluation framework for nature-based solutions (NbS) projects based on the concept of ecosystem services. Ecological Indicators, 126, 107694. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107694
Su L. et al. (2020). How do destination social responsibility strategy and service quality affect destination brand generality? Journal of Business Research, 111, 230–243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.10.011
Sun Y. Y., Pratt S. (2023). The economic value of nature-based tourism: A global meta-analysis. Tourism Management, 94, 104633. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2022.104633
Turetsky, M. R., Benscoter, B., Page, S., Rein, G., van der Werf, G. R., & Watts, A. (2015). Global vulnerability of peatlands to fire and carbon loss. Nature Geoscience, 8(1), 11–14. https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2325
Xie L., Bulkeley H. (2020). Nature-based solutions for urban regeneration: The international case. Land Use Policy, 94, 104481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104481
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