Achieving the sustainable development goals through nature-based solutions amidst climate change. Evidence from scopus and Web of Science (WoS) databases

Nature-based solutions (NBS) offer a promising tactic to mitigate climate change impacts and contribute to sustainable development. This study leverages bibliometric analysis to investigate the global research landscape on NBS and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), following the PRISMA guidelines for validation. Examining publications from Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) with 132 documents, we observed a notable upward trend in research output, indicating the growing recognition of NBS as a critical strategy. The analysis revealed that India, Italy, and the UK, among others, are the leading nations in research productivity. However, the study features a substantial geographic disparity, with a limited contribution from African nations. This discrepancy highlights the need to stimulate research collaboration and funding opportunities in developing nations, particularly in Africa. The study further demonstrates the potential of NBS to contribute to achieving 2/3 of the SDGs. This finding emphasizes the transformative power of NBS in addressing global challenges. Our analysis indicates no significant statistical difference between Scopus and WoS databases regarding the number of published articles. Nonetheless, we advocate that researchers consider utilizing both databases to ensure a thorough literature review. This study advances the existing body of literature by quantitatively assessing the global research landscape on NBS and SDGs. It highlights the growing importance of NBS, identifies geographic disparities in research output, and emphasizes the need for increased collaboration and funding in emerging economies. Trends and patterns in NBS research, if understood, can inform future research directions, policy decisions, and the implementation of effective NBS.