On November 1, 2023, Lead Investigator, Dr. Deborah Villaroel Lamb, along with Research Assistants Andrew Williams and Simone Ganpat, attended a National Consultation Event on Nature-Based Solutions and Climate-Smart Agriculture as part of the Advancing Climate Democracy Project, executed in partnership by IAMovement and the Cropper Foundation, and funded by the United Nations Democracy Fund.

Dr. Deborah Villaroel-Lamb was invited to make a brief presentation, titled “Nature-Based Solutions in the Coastal Zone: Towards Practice” which succinctly explained the critical issues and opportunities regarding the implementation and practice of coastal NbSs from the perspective of engineers. Some key points from her presentation were:

  • Hard engineering (for example, sea walls) has key strengths and weaknesses that must be taken into consideration when approaching Nature-based Solutions
  • An interdisciplinary approach is necessary to implement, fund and sustain NbSs
  • There is limited data on the effectiveness of NbSs and there is a need to develop quantitative long-term and large-scale models which include feedback loops and system connectivity
  • There is a need to understand the level of protection offered by ecosystems, including for different magnitudes and types of climatic events, and how performance varies temporally and spatially
  • The development of standardized design methods and/or tools are necessary to successful implementation of NbS by engineers