Nature-based solutions (NbS) are gaining traction in high-level, decision-making arenas as a response to global policy challenges. Claiming to be transformative and pluralistic, NbS aim to resolve societal problems through a focus on nature, which is understood to be a benign ally. This uncritical framing of nature may have unintended and inequitable consequences that undermine the emancipatory potential of NbS.

In this paper, we highlight the need to pay attention to epistemic and power dimensions that tend to be hidden in NbS. We assume that nature is neither passive nor external to human society, but is instead expressed in frames (reifying modes of expression) that reflect both knowledge and power in social encounters where NbS are used. Drawing upon five cases, we analyse how particular ways of framing nature express and reinforce the power relations that structure people’s interactions. Each of the five cases relies on a nature-based frame to produce knowledge on climate adaptation, peacebuilding and justice.

The analysis reveals how frames of nature are enacted in particular contexts, and how this conditions the potential for societal transformation towards sustainability and pluralistic knowledge. We demonstrate how frames of nature can constrain or enable opportunities for various groups to respond to environmental change. We discuss how the NbS paradigm might better incorporate diverse, situated knowledge and subjectivities, and conclude that this will require a more critical evaluation of NbS practice and research.

作为对全球政策挑战的回应，基于自然的解决方案（NbS）在高层决策领域中越来越受欢迎。NbS声称具有变革性和多元性，旨在通过关注自然而解决社会问题，自然被认为是良性的盟友。这种对自然的非批判性构架可能产生意想不到且不公平的后果，破坏了NbS的解放潜力。

在本文中，我们强调需要注意倾向于隐藏在NbS中的认知和力量维度。我们假设自然既不是消极的，也不是人类社会的外部，而是以框架（表达方式）来表达，这些框架反映了在使用NbS的社会交往中的知识和力量。在五个案例的基础上，我们分析了构建自然的特定方式如何表达和加强构成人们互动的权力关系。这五个案例中的每一个都依靠基于自然的框架来产生有关气候适应，建设和平与正义的知识。

分析揭示了在特定情况下如何制定自然框架，以及这如何调节社会向可持续性和多元化知识转化的潜力。我们演示了自然框架如何能够约束或使各团体有机会应对环境变化。我们讨论了NbS范式如何更好地整合各种不同的知识和主观性，并得出结论，这将需要对NbS的实践和研究进行更严格的评估。