USACE and UC Santa Cruz Researchers Collaborate on NbS and Risk Management Recommendations

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineering With Nature initiative (USACE-EWN) and University of California, Santa Cruz’s Center for Coastal Climate Resilience (CCCS), plus collaborators GuyCarpenter and the AXA Research Fund, have published a new handbook reviewing risk management in nature-based solutions (NbS). 

The publication, “Nature-based Solutions & Risk Management,” evaluates connections between NbS, risk science and insurance, asserting that natural resources and NbS projects are undervalued in risk assessment. The authors call for further integration among these fields through interdisciplinary collaboration. The team identifies 15 recommendations to further integrate NbS into risk science and insurance for better implementation of NbS in the future.

The recommendations are split into four categories: Risk Models, Insurance Coverages, Public-Private Partnerships and Financing Opportunities. The list includes items like improving how natural features, such as habitats and waves, are included in risk models, developing risk assessments that take into account climate change scenarios and supporting training on NbS for insurance assessors. 

Much of the handbook cites interviews with experts from industry, government, academic and scientific partners. The publication also includes detailed background information for each section, making it an excellent learning resource. 

“Our recommendations are based on insights gathered through extensive interviews with leaders in risk science, insurance, risk management, and conservation; literature review; and our practical experience working across these fields.”

Check out the publication here. The author team includes:

  • Megan Kelso, Center for Coastal Climate Resilience, Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz
  • Austen Stovall, Knauss Sea Grant Fellow, Center for Coastal Climate Resilience, Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz
  • Borja Reguero, Center for Coastal Climate Resilience, Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz
  • Franco Guillermo, GuyCarpenter
  • Michael Beck, Center for Coastal Climate Resilience, Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz

Featured image: Pok Rie via Pexels.com

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