Nature-Based Solutions for Stormwater Management: Co-Creating a Multiscalar Proposal in the Global South

This article examines the application of nature-based solutions in stormwater management in the context of the Global South, focusing on a co-created green infrastructure plan and a pilot intervention project in the city of Paranoá-DF, Brazil. Urban challenges such as extreme floods, droughts, landslides, heatwaves, and biodiversity loss call for innovative planning strategies to enhance adaptation and resilience. The research methodology combined technical analyses, field work, community participation, and stormwater runoff modelling to develop integrated and culturally sensitive solutions to the city’s environmental and socio-economic challenges. This article then presents the outcomes of the community-based participatory workshops, which informed the definition of a green and blue infrastructure network incorporating a range of NBS. Community-identified priorities were used to design urban landscape interventions aimed at enhancing water-related ecosystem services and improving quality of life. Additionally, and supported by hydrological modelling, this article details a localised landscape intervention project that provides new perspectives on urban resilience in this context. Acknowledging the unique challenges faced by cities in the Global South—where social inequities and infrastructure deficits intersect with environmental vulnerabilities—this study highlights the importance of adapting NBS to the contexts of precarious urbanisation patterns. With hydrological stress expected to intensify under climate change, the proposed solutions address the heightened risks faced by low- and middle-income households, promoting more equitable and sustainable urban transformations.