This research examines how nature-based solutions contribute to the urban metabolism of informal settlements, with particular attention to resource access, local knowledge and data scarcity. It addresses the risk that nature-based-solutions policy may overlook settlements where infrastructures are incomplete, governance is fragmented and environmental practices are already organised through community-based arrangements.

The project develops a bottom-up data framework and applies it to selected settlements in Ghana. The framework connects locally available information about water, food, energy, waste, land and ecosystem functions with indicators of nature-based-solutions performance. It combines literature review, field-based evidence, stakeholder knowledge and spatial analysis to identify both existing practices and opportunities for intervention.

The work contributes to a more inclusive nature-based-solutions agenda by asking not only whether an intervention provides ecosystem services, but also who can access them and how they interact with informal resource systems. It links the Lab’s UMaNS framework to Global South contexts and provides a foundation for assessing sustainability, inclusion and governance without assuming the data availability of formally planned cities.