The Ashley National Forest has implemented and refined novel approaches to evaluate ecosystem services in a pilot project with Forest Service Research and Development, the Washington Office, Duke University and Environmental Management and Planning Solutions, Inc. as part of the forest plan revision process.

In a webinar hosted by The Pew Charitable Trusts, Lydia Olander and Katie Warnell discussed a model to map coastal carbon capture and storage—known as blue carbon—and existing coastal protection, which was then applied in states from New York to North Carolina.

The Nicholas Institute is applying the expertise of its professionals to rapidly evolving environmental and energy issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read four stories about how Nicholas Institute projects are meeting the moment.

To realize the goals of North Carolina's Executive Order 80, Nicholas Institute experts are working in partnership with state agencies, environmental nonprofits, utility commissions, and other stakeholders to develop policies that aim to fund clean energy, enhance carbon storage opportunities on natural and working lands, and reduce power sector emissions.

As Americans were put under stay-at-home orders and told to social distance this spring, many turned to parks for their mental and physical health. With travel and vacation limited in the coming months, they are increasingly looking to nearby parks to fill their recreational needs.

The Nicholas Institute was part of a stakeholder group that provided recommendations to manage the state's natural and working lands—forests, wetlands, agricultural lands, and coastal habitats—to enhance ecosystem and community resiliency and sequester carbon. A series of story maps created by the Nicholas Institute summarize data used in developing the plan and provide examples of how the information can be used at the local level.

A Duke University team shared key takeaways from a report it produced as part of a two-year study for the UN Global Compact’s “Health is Everyone’s Business” initiative at an event held in conjunction with the UN Climate Action Summit.

Duke hosted The Coming Storm conference for journalists, policymakers, and community leaders to hear about ways to make North Carolina communities more resilient to hurricanes. The group of experts who spoke at the conference included Tim Profeta, director of the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, and Lydia Olander, the Nicholas Institute's Ecosystem Services Program director.

The Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University has awarded funding to six research projects for Fiscal Year 2019–20 through the institute's Catalyst Program.

Now in its third year, the Catalyst Program aims to build on the Nicholas Institute’s mission by increasing engagement with Duke faculty to incubate and advance new partnerships, enhance policy-relevant knowledge, and create innovative policy solutions based on new creative synergies.

The nexus between changing environmental conditions and health outcomes is not well understood by many businesses. To break down this barrier, the United Nations Global Compact's "Health is Everyone’s Business" action platform, which facilitates collaboration between companies, has made the case for integrating health and environmental solutions one of its priorities.