世界銀行在2008年發(fā)布的報告《生物多樣性、氣候變化和適應性：世界銀行投資中基于自然的解決方案》中，首次提出了基于自然的解決方案（NbS），闡述為“更系統(tǒng)地理解人與自然的關系”，并在10余年間將此概念整合到斯里蘭卡科倫坡濕地支持城市防洪、越南紅樹林恢復等約100個投資項目中。NbS日益成為自然資源管理和生態(tài)保護等領域關注的熱點，其理念與技術方法被越來越多地用于討論和實踐。世界自然保護聯(lián)盟（IUCN）后又作出如下定義：通過保護、可持續(xù)管理和修復自然或人工生態(tài)系統(tǒng)，有效地和適應性地應對社會挑戰(zhàn)，并為人類福祉和生物多樣性帶來益處的行動；同時，建議用NbS應對氣候變化。

只有更好地認識自然，才能找到基于自然的最佳解決方案。人們一直都在探索和學習與自然相處之道。亞馬孫流域的原住民針對森林的煙火建立了“森林島”管理策略，“以火攻火”——定期點燃部落周圍的小塊森林，清除容易引發(fā)火災的灌木和雜草，這樣可以釋放植物養(yǎng)分，提升農(nóng)田的生產(chǎn)能力，提高森林應對氣候變化的抵御能力。這一系列發(fā)源于農(nóng)業(yè)原型的解決方案，以系統(tǒng)觀的生態(tài)手段應對自然災害、提升生產(chǎn)力，構建了更加穩(wěn)定和具有生命力的人居社會-生態(tài)系統(tǒng)。

中國亙古以來都在對自然進行認知和解釋。端午節(jié)將至，這是一個總會和紀念屈原聯(lián)系起來的節(jié)日。屈原寫過一篇很有意思的長詩《天問》，通篇對天地、自然和人世等現(xiàn)象發(fā)問，尤其提到上古洪水以及對治水方式的疑問：洪水如淵深不見底，怎樣才能將它填平（洪泉極深，何以窴之？），九州大地如何安置？河流山谷怎樣疏浚（九州安錯？川谷何洿？），大禹從鯀腹中生出，治水方法怎樣變化（伯禹愎鯀，夫何以變化？），為何繼承前任遺緒，所用謀略卻不相同（何續(xù)初繼業(yè)，而厥謀不同？），表現(xiàn)了作者對自然現(xiàn)象和治理方式的大膽懷疑，以及追求真理的探索精神。這也說明了對自然現(xiàn)象的不同認知帶來不同的解決方案和效果。而后來的人們在不斷探索人與自然關系的過程中，更是凝練出了“師法自然，因地制宜”的創(chuàng)造性解決方案準則。

伊恩·麥克哈格在《設計結(jié)合自然》中多次論述人和自然的關系，“自然不是為人類表演舞臺提供裝飾性的背景……而是需要把自然作為生命的源泉、生存的環(huán)境、誨人的老師、神圣的殿堂和挑戰(zhàn)的場所來維護，尤其是需要不斷地再發(fā)現(xiàn)自然界本身還未被我們掌握的規(guī)律，尋根求源”。我們需要了解自然的規(guī)律、尊重它的忠告，并把自然當作盟友來看待，通過認知自然來揭示和創(chuàng)造出解決方案。

NbS的準則強調(diào)采用生物多樣性和生態(tài)系統(tǒng)方法，提出解決特定社會問題和挑戰(zhàn)的方案，在以土地為對象的空間規(guī)劃設計中，設計師首要的任務是“閱讀”自然，每一片土地都是獨特的，這種獨特性源自其地貌、水文、土壤、氣候、植被等自然條件，也源于其上持久人工干預形成的場所與文化。既要持續(xù)加深對本地自然知識和傳統(tǒng)生態(tài)智慧的了解，同時將國土景觀以及生態(tài)系統(tǒng)進行解譯，進而合理選擇NbS路徑，呈現(xiàn)出土地的獨特性并使其永續(xù)發(fā)展。

當然，從古至今，我們對自然的認知與提出的解決方案是在不斷演進的，融合了長期存在于歷史發(fā)展中的生態(tài)智慧和最新的科學知識與實踐經(jīng)驗，這是響應多重可持續(xù)發(fā)展挑戰(zhàn)的必由之路。當今的世界是一個高度整合的、人類主導的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)，如何以系統(tǒng)性的視角審視自然，促成全新全方位的認知與發(fā)現(xiàn)？我們或許也需要如同屈原的《天問》一般，不斷發(fā)問，不斷探索，保持知識的更新和儲備，以更獨特、精妙和專業(yè)的視角認知自然，在自然認知系統(tǒng)之上創(chuàng)造性地提出最佳解決方案，真正做到“師法自然、因地制宜”。

Nature-based Solutions

The World Bank first presented Nature-Based Solutions(NbS) in its 2008 report namedBiodiversity,Climate Change and Adaptation:Nature-Based Solutions in World Bank Investments, and described it as “a more systematic understanding of the relationship between people and nature”. Over the past decade, it has blended this concept into about 100 investment projects, such as the support of Colombo wetland in Sri Lanka for urban flood control, and mangrove restoration in Vietnam. As NbS is increasingly proving to be a hot topic in the field of natural resource management and ecological conservation, its concepts and technical approaches are increasingly being discussed and practiced. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has defined NbS as: actions that effectively and adaptively address social challenges and provide benefits to human well-being and biodiversity through the conservation, sustainable management and restoration of natural or man-made ecosystems. It also suggested tackling climate change by Nature-based Solutions.

It is conditioned only by a better understanding of nature to acquire the best nature-based solutions. People are all the time exploring and learning ways to get along with nature. The aborigines in the Amazon Basin developed a“forest island” management strategy for forest fires, namely“fighting fire with fire”. This aimed to ignite periodically the small patches of forest around the tribe and remove brush and weeds that could easily cause fires. In this way, both the productivity of farmland and the resistance of forests to climate change can be improved through the release of plant nutrients. These serial solutions originating from the agricultural prototype deal with natural disasters and enhance productivity with a systemic ecological approach. It has built a more stable and viable ecosystem for human settlements.

China has been cognizing and interpreting nature from time immemorial. The Dragon Boat Festival is just round the corner, a festival that is always associated with commemorating Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan wrote a long and interesting poem namedTian Wen(Inquiries of Heaven). This poem asks questions about heaven and earth, nature and the human world,especially about the ancient floods and the way they were managed. How can we fill the floods which are as deep as an abyss? How can the land be emplaced? How can the rivers and valleys be dredged? Why is the strategy used different when inheriting the predecessor’s legacy? These questions manifest the author’s bold doubt as to natural phenomena and management methods, as well as his quest for truth. This also illustrates different solutions and effects arising out of different perceptions of natural phenomena. In the process of exploring the relationship between man and nature, people later developed the creative solution guideline on “l(fā)earning from nature and acting according to circumstances”.

Ian Lennox McHarg expounds the relationship between man and nature several times inDesign with Nature.“Nature is not a decorative backdrop for the stage of human performance ... but it needs us to treat nature as a source of life, an environment for survival, a teacher for instruction, a sacred palace and a place of challenge to maintain, especially needs us to constantly rediscover the laws of nature itself that we have not yet grasped, to search for its root.” We need to know nature’s laws, respect its advice, and treat nature as an ally to reveal and create solutions through the knowledge of nature.

The NbS guidelines accentuate the application of biodiversity and ecosystem approaches and present solutions to specific social problems and challenges. In the spatial planning and design with land as the object, the designer’s first task is to “read” nature. Each piece of land is characterized by uniqueness. This characteristic is derived from its topography,hydrology, soil, climate, vegetation, and other natural conditions, as well as from the places and cultures formed by lasting human intervention. We need to grasp the local natural knowledge and traditional ecological wisdom, while interpreting the national landscape and ecosystems. This aims to choose a reasonable path for Nature-based Solutions so as to present the uniqueness of the land and make it sustainable.

Undoubtedly, our knowledge of nature and proposed solutions has gradually evolved over time. It incorporates long-term ecological knowledge from historical development and the latest scientific knowledge and practical experience.In this way, it is possible to respond to the diverse challenges to sustainable development. In today’s world, a highly integrated, human-dominated ecosystem, how can we look at nature from a systemic perspective and contribute to new and holistic perceptions and discoveries? Perhaps we need to continue questioning, exploring, renewing and stocking knowledge as Qu Yuan, perceiving nature from a more unique, subtle and professional perspective. We also need to put forward creatively the best solutions on top of the natural system, truly “l(fā)earning from nature and acting according to circumstances”.

Editor-in-Chief: Professor ZHENG Xi

May 28, 2022