In a recent policy statement, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) endorsed the use of nature-based solutions (NbS) as a crucial tool for addressing the threat of climate change and bolstering community and ecological resilience.
ASCE’s recognition of NbS as a crucial tool in future infrastructure projects is an important step toward accelerating global adoption: their new policy addresses many of the challenges NbS has faced, including a lack of workforce skilled in the use of nature-based solutions, policy hurdles, and lack of awareness from practitioners and the public as they make infrastructure decisions that will last for the next century.
The policy statement calls for prioritizing NbS to achieve societal, environmental and economic benefits, addressing climate change associated risks through NbS, avoiding harm to the environment by using NbS when possible, facilitating the use of NbS by reducing policy and planning barriers, educating future engineers to ensure their ability to use natural, hybrid and conventional engineering tools, and finally, collaborating globally to advance nature-based systems research and demonstration projects.
In their statement, they state that “the degradation of natural systems, biodiversity, and infrastructure systems continues to accelerate due to the compounding effects of climate change and human development. There is a critical need to find preemptive, innovative, and scalable solutions that sustain natural systems and their services.”
The statement cites NbS as an innovative way to find solutions that both serve communities and restore the function of ecosystems. It also calls out natural infrastructure’s ability to recover from damage, general cost-effectiveness, and adaptability in changing conditions.
“Civil engineers are responsible for designing infrastructure systems to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public while balancing societal, environmental, and economic impacts,” the statement concludes. “Utilization of nature-based solutions can help civil engineers adhere to the principles of sustainable development, mitigate adverse effects, and use resources wisely while minimizing resource depletion and protecting the public.”
The policy was developed by the ASCE Technical Committee on Natural and Nature-based Infrastructure Systems with extensive input from across the society. This technical committee is chaired by IRIS director Brian Bledsoe and includes members from across the Network for Engineering With Nature, including practitioners, NGOs, and government representatives. The Network for Engineering With Nature was cofounded by the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems (IRIS) and the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center.
Originally published here by the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems. To read about how IRIS is working to make these recommendations a reality, including accelerating NbS research and adoption, overcoming policy barriers, and building a workforce of innovative, systems thinkers, visit our projects page.
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