Private initiative drivers for small-scale nature-based solutions: comparative case studies in the Liguria region

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are increasingly recognised as effective strategies for flood and hydrogeological risk reduction, yet their implementation on privately owned land remains limited despite most relevant land being privately held. In fragmented terraced landscapes, hydrological resilience depends on distributed stewardship across many individual holdings, a scale of action that public institutions cannot achieve alone. This study investigates motivations, barriers, and enabling conditions for voluntary NBS implementation through qualitative case studies of private land actors (PLA) in Liguria, north-western Italy, a territory characterised by steep topography, fragmented land tenure, high hydrogeological exposure, and progressive abandonment of traditional terraced landscapes. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, findings show that NBS are embedded within broader organisational missions, shaped by value-based orientations combining ecological concern, cultural-landscape attachment, and public commitment, alongside problem-driven responses to environmental degradation. Key enabling conditions include technical knowledge, mobilisation of in-kind labour and professional skills, and targeted financial support. Barriers are pervasive and multi-layered, spanning morphological constraints, tenure fragmentation, and institutional frameworks poorly calibrated to context. The findings highlight the structural insufficiency of individual action in fragmented landscapes, identify a gap between policy ambition and institutional reality, and argue that reducing barriers to already-motivated actors represents the most productive policy direction.