Strengthening disaster warnings and scaling up nature-based solutions in Europe: The Hut Policy Briefs

The HuT project, addressing multi-hazard disaster risk reduction (DRR) under climate change, has released two policy briefs offering concrete, evidence-based recommendations for policymakers and practitioners across Europe. The first examines how to better integrate warnings within society through public engagement and co-creation; the second sets out policy options for overcoming the governance barriers that continue to limit the wide-scale implementation of nature-based solutions (NbS).

Both briefs draw on research and stakeholder engagement carried out across The HuT’s demonstrator sites in Iceland, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany and Lithuania, and are intended to feed directly into national and European policy processes on climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction.

How warnings can be better integrated within society

This brief argues that effective early warning systems depend as much on public trust, understanding and inclusion as on technical accuracy. Drawing on case studies from Iceland, Italy, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Spain, Germany and Lithuania, it shows how co-creation between authorities and communities — from localised rainfall sensors developed with residents in Seyðisfjörður, Iceland, to Switzerland’s network of trained local natural hazard advisors — strengthens the legitimacy and reach of warning systems, while volunteer-led simulation exercises, such as Italy’s “Campi Flegrei 2025” national volcanic risk exercise, build preparedness across society.

The brief calls for national guidelines on public engagement in DRR and warning systems, sustained funding for local-level capacity building, monitoring and evaluation frameworks to track warning reach and comprehension, cross-sector collaboration among meteorological agencies, emergency services, telecom providers and community groups, and greater use of citizen science in risk mapping and preparedness. It further stresses that warnings must reach everyone, including migrants, older adults, people with disabilities, unhoused people and those outside typical information networks, and that affordability remains a significant barrier to household-level preparedness.

Authors: Maryam Rokhideh, Carina J. Fearnley and Ilan Kelman (University College London), developed within Work Package 2 (Human Behaviours), Task 2.2 (Operational warning systems).

Policy options for overcoming barriers to wide-scale implementation of nature-based solutions

Nature-based Solutions are widely endorsed in European policy, including the European Green Deal, the EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change and the 2030 Biodiversity Strategy, yet their implementation on the ground remains uneven. This brief draws on 25 interviews, workshops and focus groups with around 60 stakeholders across three contrasting demonstration cases — urban heat and flooding in Valencia (Spain), wildfire risk in Ogliastra (Italy), and mountain hazards including landslides in Canton Bern (Switzerland) — to identify the governance barriers most frequently holding NbS back: limited technical expertise, path dependency towards conventional grey infrastructure, administrative silos, insufficient long-term financing and maintenance capacity, and the ecological complexity of managing NbS under changing climatic conditions.

For each case, the brief presents policy options assessed by more than 40 stakeholders against cost, administrative feasibility, environmental sustainability and social acceptance. Recommendations include developing technical manuals and mandatory comparative assessments of grey, hybrid and nature-based alternatives in Valencia; integrated fire-smart land management strategies and inclusive “territorial laboratories” in Ogliastra; and stronger integration of biodiversity–climate considerations and cross-sectoral coordination mechanisms in Canton Bern. Across all three cases, the brief converges on a shared message: shifting NbS from isolated pilots to systematic, large-scale practice requires improved cross-sectoral coordination, explicit inclusion of NbS in planning and regulatory frameworks, and formalised governance structures for sustained collaboration.

Authors: Juliette G. C. Martin (IIASA), Julia J. Aguilera-Rodríguez (UNIGE), JoAnne Linnerooth-Bayer (IIASA), Elias Huland (UNIGE), Anna Scolobig (UNIGE), Alessio Menini (CMCC), Ana Gabriela Fernandez Garza (UPV), Valentina Bacciu (CNR), Adria Rubio Martin (UPV), Costantino Sirca (CMCC) and Markus Stoffel (UNIGE).