Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijdrr The role of nature-based solutions in disaster risk reduction: The decision maker's perspectives on urban resilience in São Paulo state Andrea Ferraz Young a,* , José Antonio Marengo a , Juliano Oliveira Martins Coelho a , Graziela Balda Scofield a , Camila Cristina de Oliveira Silva b , Carla Correa Prieto a a Brazilian National Center of Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters (Cemaden), Brazil b Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Disasters Ecosystem services Green infrastructure Landscape Urban resilience ABSTRACT This paper presents the co-learning process outcomes based on Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) and Nature- based Solutions (NbS) for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). EbA principles are directly associated with resilience improvement that depends on NbS for change of patterns and actions. Basically, we expected to explore how urban systems can be improved avoiding environmental degradation (i.e. waste ecosystem services and their benefits). Therefore, distinct scenarios were proposed with specific objectives: (1) identification of barriers and challenges; (2) identification of opportunities for NbS implementation. Throughout a workshop, we had chance to discuss knowledge gaps and potential emerging research such as: (1) synergies between DRR and EbA; (2) a long-term perspective of ecosystem management; (3) dynamic of DRR and the natural processes involved con- sidering the complexity of NbS. We conclude that existing measures are limited in their ecological focus re- garding to DRR and benefits they address. For this reason, a more comprehensive approach to support NbS and its systematic mainstreaming is required. 1. Introduction This paper presents the results from co-learning process based on Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) and Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). We applied knowledge maps as one of the main tools to identify current practices in São Paulo state. In addition, we explore some techniques of representation and suggest a roadmap with some directions to build a proposal of development based on nature that we called Nature-based Development (NbD). We discussed the operationalization of DRR by improving knowl- edge on how ecosystem-based approaches can be considered in decision making process through the Workshop Mobilization for Organization and Feasibility of Resilient Urban Spaces (MOVER), held on August 21–24, 2018, organized by Brazilian National Center of Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters (Cemaden) and the municipality of São Jose dos Campos, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. We focused on the necessity of an integrated program of actions in urban areas based on the potential linkages between DRR and NbS. The aim was to encourage a discussion on urban resilience to address con- temporary disaster risk management. We emphasized not only aspects on how to achieve the DRR but also how to incorporate the ecosystems services in decision making. It is recognized that over the last decade, hydrometeorological ex- tremes have become more frequent and intense in Brazil [1,2], with records of significant socioeconomic impacts and losses of human lives in Brazil [3], leading to the need of strengthening of disaster risk management at local levels. In 2010, the number of people affected by natural disasters in Brazil was about 96 million in contrast to recently period, when approxi- mately 123 million were affected by direct or indirect damages. During the last decade, more than half a million people have been made homeless by landslides and floods mainly. An expressive part of affected people is in the Southeast region, which accounts approximately 66% of the total disasters occurred in the country [3]. In terms of cost, events such as landslide in Rio de Janeiro (e.g. mountain range in 2011) to- taled approximately U$ 2 billion with at least 780 million for rebuilding [4]. Concerning this critical situation around the world, highlighting developing countries, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) emphasized the urgency of national plans im- plementation to effectively protect the population [5]. The importance of improved understanding on DRR in all its https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2019.101219 Received 8 April 2019; Received in revised form 14 June 2019; Accepted 16 June 2019 * Corresponding author. E-mail address: andrea.young@cemaden.gov.br (A.F. Young). International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 39 (2019) 101219 Available online 18 June 2019 2212-4209/ © 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd. T