Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions

Does Nature Deliver? Monitoring the Effectiveness of Coastal Nature-Based Solutions

Date and Time
Friday, March 20, 2026 - 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Location
Webinar
Coastal mangroves in background with water in foreground. Text: "Webinar. Does Nature Deliver? Monitoring the Effectiveness of Coastal Nature-Based Solutions. Join this webinar to learn about innovative efforts to standardize monitoring and data collection for coastal NBS. Friday, March 20 | 2-3 p.m. ET. Register: duke.is/mar20nesp." Includes logo for the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability at Duke University's Nation Ecosystem Services Partnership.

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Nature-based solutions (NBS) are actions that incorporate natural features and processes to protect, conserve, restore, sustainably use, and manage natural or modified ecosystems to address socio-environmental challenges while providing measurable co-benefits (IUCN, 2016). 

While the benefits of NBS have been widely documented, adoption remains relatively slow. One limiting factor is a lack of systematic evidence that clearly documents how specific NBS interventions perform under different contexts. 

Numerous data collection efforts are underway to fill this knowledge gap. However, coordinating these disparate efforts so the data can be synthesized remains a challenge. This webinar will feature:

1) Details about two initiatives to innovate and standardize monitoring of living shorelines and other coastal NBS efforts in the Southeastern United States. 

  • Speakers: Rachel Gittman (East Carolina University) and Gary Sundin (South Carolina Department of Natural Resources).

2) Information about a Duke University project to design a framework that enables more consistent collection of NBS effectiveness data at a regional level. 

  • Speakers: Lydia Olander and Katie Warnell (Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Duke University).