U.S. Department of the Interior, Duke University Launch Digital Nature-Based Solutions Roadmap

Today the United States Department of the Interior launched a digital Nature-Based Solutions Roadmap, developed in partnership with the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment and Sustainability at Duke University. This free public resource will serve as a user-friendly and accessible guide for implementing nature-based solutions.

Nature-based solutions incorporate natural features and processes to protect, conserve, restore, sustainably use and manage natural or modified ecosystems. They address socio-environmental challenges while providing measurable co-benefits for both people and the environment. Examples cited in the roadmap include urban stormwater and runoff management, prescribed burns, living shorelines and restoration of various ecosystems.

The digital roadmap builds on a print version released in 2023, adding over 400 case studies of nature-based solutions projects in the United States and internationally that have been led by Department of the Interior staff, partners and other organizations advancing nature-based solutions.

The roadmap was announced today by U.S. Department of the Interior Acting Deputy Secretary Laura Daniel-Davis during an event at the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Baku, Azerbaijan.  

Nicholas Institute experts Lydia Olander, Sara Mason and Katie Warnell collaborated with U.S. Department of the Interior colleagues on the digital roadmap. Student assistants Aaron Siegle, Melissa Merritt, Iman Byndloss, Rachel Gold, Finnie Zhao and Allison Barbaro also contributed to the project.