Nature-Based Solutions Effectiveness Data

Advancing nature-based solutions (NBS) calls for more information on how effectively these projects contribute to risk reduction and species persistence. These data can help engineers better design NBS, communities plan for how to use NBS to meet their goals, and land managers leverage NBS for species persistence over time.

Nicholas Institute experts at the Nature Activation Hub are working to address these gaps for NBS efforts in two focal areas:

	Restoration and conservation of coastal wetlands, including salt marshes and mangrove forests
	Management of inland watersheds

Project Goals		Who This Project Helps
Develop a suite of metrics that can be used for monitoring and evaluation of projects, estimating hazard reduction and species benefits, parameterizing predictive models for scenario planning, and developing design standards. See a summary of the metrics developed for coastal systems. Design a blueprint for NBS project data collection to allow project benefit data to be collected consistently and in a shareable format. This would include a data collection template with common terminology and structure, as well as sharing protocols. Explore development of a NBS research data exchange, enabling researchers to work with pre-identified programs that have detailed project data. Examine our concept note for what such a data exchange might look like. Explore opportunities to bring together existing organizations and experts to create a research network focused on answering critical questions around NBS effectiveness.		Local decision-makers who want to use NBS to meet their goals Funders who want to know how their projects are performing Engineers who need to develop NBS design guidelines Researchers who collect and analyze additional data to fill gaps in understanding of effectiveness and who can help improve data collection methods Insurance companies interested in incorporating NBS into risk assessments

Publication

Evaluation of Publicly Accessible Nature-Based Solutions Databases as Sources for Evidence of Effectiveness

Key recommendations include making databases downloadable, adding standardized geographic and project attributes, and improving measurement of effectiveness. Better data accessibility and consistency are essential for developing design standards and scaling up NBS implementation.

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Project Experts