The U.S. Global Change Research Program has announced Lydia Olander, Nicholas Institute program director, as one of more than 150 experts who will write the first-ever National Nature Assessment. The assessment will take stock of nature’s inherent worth, as well as what it provides to culture, health and well-being, jobs and livelihoods, safety and more.

During this April 2 webinar, a wide range of experts discussed a proposed U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rule that could make it easier to activate nature-based solutions and other multibenefit approaches in water resources projects. The webinar was organized by the National Ecosystem Services Partnership and the American Society of Civil Engineers' Environmental & Water Resources Institute.

The new Nicholas Institute publication brings together available scientific evidence on mangrove degradation and recovery with anecdotal details from managers and scientists based in Puerto Rico and Florida to help inform management of mangrove habitats in the Jobos Bay and Rookery Bay research reserves.

World leaders—along with government officials, nongovernmental organizations, researchers and activists—gathered in Dubai for the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference to discuss ways to advance climate action. Experts from the Nicholas Institute attended the conference, released publications or announced initiatives tied to it and/or followed the proceedings closely.

A Duke University team collaborated with the Department of the Interior to produce a practical, comprehensive resource on implementing nature-based solutions.

The Department of the Interior today announced new steps to utilize nature-based solutions in its efforts to tackle the climate crisis. Those include the launch of the Nature-Based Solutions Roadmap, a new tool developed in partnership with the Nicholas Institute to provide DOI with guidance on implementing nature-based solutions.

The Biden-Harris administration announced new actions to advance nature-based climate solutions during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28). The list included the Department of the Interior’s Nature-Based Solutions Roadmap, an online tool created in partnership with Duke University that provides strategies, training resources, and successful examples for adopting nature-based solutions throughout the United States.

Restoring pocosin wetlands represents an opportunity for North Carolina to combat climate change while supporting community health, wildlife and recreation, write Katie Warnell (Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability) and Curt Richardson (Duke University Wetland Center) in a LinkedIn article.

Lydia Olander, director of the Nicholas Institute's Ecosystem Services Program, spoke with The Chronicle about Duke University's new partnership with the Network for Engineering With Nature (N-EWN). Olander explained how existing Duke programs will benefit from N-EWN, how Duke's expertise can contribute to other partners in the network, and why nature-based solutions are critical to addressing the climate crisis.

Duke University is bringing its expertise in environmental management, policy and engineering to an active community of researchers, practitioners and educators who are addressing major infrastructure challenges in the United States through “Engineering With Nature®.” The Nicholas Institute will lead Duke’s involvement in the Network for Engineering With Nature, working with faculty, staff and students across the university.