Introduction

Nature Based Solutions (NBS) are often proposed as being adaptive, flexible and reversible solutions for integrated water management challenges and are defined as actively using natural processes to solve these challenges. In some cases, they are combined with more traditional grey solutions into hybrid solutions in areas where e.g., space is limited, such as urban areas. NBS can be applied in all types of water systems, ranging from coasts, estuaries, rivers and upstream catchments to urban environments and should always be judged within the full ecosystem functioning.

There are still many challenges in implementing NBS within a larger framework, ranging from technical aspects (e.g., do they work under extreme events, how do they perform throughout their life cycle, how should they be implemented and maintained on a daily basis) and governance aspects (e.g., how are they financed, accepted, valued by stakeholders). 

One way of overcoming potential hurdles and perceived knowledge gaps is by sharing experience between professionals. Pilot studies help implementation on full scale and examples from elsewhere inspire people to think beyond the ‘standard’ set of measures.

IAHR can play a key role in knowledge transfer of NBS to a wider community of professionals in many different ways. By linking academic researchers to applied practitioners through workshops and special sessions such as held during the IARH World Congress in Panama and by actively stimulating exchange of knowledge through dedicated publications, such as very recently the themed issue of hydrolink and special issues of magazines such as the upcoming Ambio-issue.

Scope

We propose to create a community of IAHR members interested in NBS in order to share experiences and to put NBS as a more visible topic on the table. Members are stimulated to organize meetings and special sessions at the IAHR conferences and we aim to create a platform of connections between members, e.g., to dedicatedly meet during a workshop-setting at the world conferences/organize special sessions on the topic etc.

The IAHR World Congress in Granada could be an excellent first moment to announce such a new working group and let members show their interest linked to the above mentioned session.

Key topics

• Technical assessment and evaluations of NBS in different socio-ecological contexts (catchments, rivers, deltas, urbanized areas, coasts)

• Implementation process of NBS

• Role of NBS in larger scale climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategies (incl. green/grey combinations of solutions)

• Climate robust catchment management

Latest activities

• Special session on NBS for drougths during the 7th IAHR Europe Congress in Athens on 7 September 2022

• Special Sessions on NBS during the IAHR World Congress in Vienna

• High-Level Panel "Natural Based Solutions and Ecohydraulics"+ workshop on NBS @Granada (NBS implementation and functioning) and @Athens (NBS drought), HLP Nature-based Solutions Draft Report 22 June_JH_wn.docx

• Short paper published in Hydrolink on NBS relevance for IAHR members "Using Nature Based Solutions to address water security changes"

Related articles and videos

• Article Nature-Based Solutions to the Sustainable Management of Climate Change Impacts, Flooding, and Drought - Literature Review (Granada, 2022)

• Article Nature-based Solutions and Ecohydraulics (Granada, 2022)
  

• Using Nature Based Solutions to address water security challenges (2021)

• Special Session Ecohydraulics and Nature-Based Solutions for Water Security (2021)
  

• Nature-Based Solutions for Water Security - A Business Opportunity (2020)

• Nature-based solutions as an overarching concept and river corridor management (2021)

• Other articles
  

A selection of recommended resources and references

• https://www.ecoshape.org

• https://ewn.el.erdc.dren.mil/atlas.html

• https://www.iucn.org/theme/nature-based-solutions

• https://www.wri.org/resources/data-sets/aqueduct-global-maps-30-data

• http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/739421509427698706/Implementing-nature-based-flood-protection-principles-and-implementation-guidance

• http://nwrm.eu/

• https://www.pianc.org/working-with-nature

• https://www.oppla.eu

• https://www.naturebasedsolutionsevidence.info/evidence-tool/