Just and inclusive enough? Designing inclusive NBS to support communities in their just transition towards sustainability and resilience

Nature-based Solutions (NBS) are increasingly promoted as a strategic concept and practical approach to tackle current societal challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and issues related to human health and well-being. Yet, ensuring that NBS are inclusive, just, and empower communities for decision-making remains insufficiently addressed in practice. This study, therefore, aims to a) critically review existing frameworks and approaches to NBS, with a focus on inclusivity, justice, equity, and empowerment; b) conceptualize their interlinkages and highlight their contribution to sustainability transition, and c) propose a comprehensive practitioner-oriented framework with recommended actions, measurable outcomes, and adaptive steps. A targeted semi-systematic literature review has been conducted to identify existing approaches and map knowledge gaps (e.g., current frameworks are often fragmented, lack practical applicability, and are not structured in a practitioner-friendly way). To address these gaps, the study introduces a comprehensive framework and operational guidelines for NBS researchers and practitioners, ensuring meaningful integration of inclusivity, equity, and justice throughout NBS processes. The study links inclusive NBS with just sustainability transitions defined as long-term, structural shifts that restore ecosystems while promoting social equity. It identifies three core principles: leaving no one behind, ensuring equitable distribution of NBS benefits and reduction of burdens, and fostering community empowerment through inclusive, multi-level governance. The resulting framework is structured around four thematic areas: capacity building, stakeholder involvement, inclusive NBS design, and fair benefit distribution and burden reduction. While acknowledging limitations (e.g., data scarcity and context-specific variability), the study offers actionable guidelines and reflective considerations to support researchers and practitioners in implementing inclusive NBS as drivers of more equitable, resilient, and transformative sustainability transitions.