Informations NBS
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Natural and Nature-based Features have been used for decades to support a variety of objectives in coastal and fluvial systems. Beach, dune and river and lake restoration projects have been a longstanding part of flood risk reduction strategies in Europe, the United States and elsewhere. Restoration projects supporting floodplain, wetlands, seagrass, oysters and other habitats and communities have been undertaken around the world to restore ecosystem functions. In more recent years, there has been a growing interest in developing a technically sound engineering approach for integrating NNBF, in combination with conventional flood defense...
Coastal systems are increasingly vulnerable to flooding due to the
combined influence of coastal storms, development and population
growth, geomorphic change, and sea level rise. This reality has given rise
to efforts to make greater use of ecosystem
-based approaches to reduce
risks from coastal storms, approaches which draw from the capacity of
wetlands, beaches and dunes,
biogenic reefs, and other natural features to
reduce the impacts of storm surge and waves. This report offers details
regarding the use of natural and nature
-based features (NNBF) to improve
coastal resilience and...
combined influence of coastal storms, development and population
growth, geomorphic change, and sea level rise. This reality has given rise
to efforts to make greater use of ecosystem
-based approaches to reduce
risks from coastal storms, approaches which draw from the capacity of
wetlands, beaches and dunes,
biogenic reefs, and other natural features to
reduce the impacts of storm surge and waves. This report offers details
regarding the use of natural and nature
-based features (NNBF) to improve
coastal resilience and...
Nature-based Solutions (NbS) work with nature to benefit both natural ecosystems and the people that depend on them. By putting nature at the centre, NbS address a range of societal challenges: protecting, sustainably managing or restoring natural or modified ecosystems and supporting their health, function and biodiversity.
The research collated in this brief confirms that NbS deliver simultaneously multiple benefits and shows the wide-ranging beneficial impacts of scaling up their implementation across Europe.
Recent studies have highlighted the importance of boosting green urban areas and connecting fragments of green space with ecological corridors to improve biodiversity and animal species dispersal within the urban landscape. If adequately designed, green corridors can improve urban ventilation, allowing for cooler air from outside to penetrate into the more densely built areas, and reducing thus the urban heat island effect. Urban green areas can also have positive effects for human health and climate change adaptation. The capacity of vegetation to retain water is an important flood prevention feature that can reduce peak discharges.
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The extent to which climate change will impact our society depends on the exposure, vulnerability (which are linked to the socio-economic development) and the type of hazards. In any case climate change adaptation is needed at all levels: at the local, regional, national, transnational, EU and also the international level. Due to the varying severity and nature of climate impacts across regions in Europe, most adaptation initiatives are taken at the regional or local levels. Capacity building is often, if not always, essential components of climate change adaptation initiatives.
Capacity building refers to the process by which...
Capacity building refers to the process by which...
The use of adapted crops and varieties (including both herbaceous and tree crops) is suggested by the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) among the climate-smart practices for risk reduction, soil and water conservation, and efficient water management. The use of adapted crops and varieties (either annual or perennial) helps to reduce the negative impacts of climate change on agricultural systems and at the same time to ensure stable agricultural production. Introducing new crops or varieties, or bringing back heritage crops, leads to diversification of agricultural production, with positive effects on biodiversity and...
Ecosystems and biodiversity have long been endangered by numerous factors, such as habitat modification due to changes in land use, habitat loss due to various human activities, habitat fragmentation for example due to traffic routes, etc. Climate change is an essential factor adding additional pressure on habitats and biodiversity. Every organism has certain demands in terms of climatic conditions. This is reflected in the global distribution of species. Rising temperatures and changing precipitation conditions as well as the increased occurrence of extreme events imply that organisms must either adapt or move to new habitats to service....
River and floodplain rehabilitation and restoration embraces a great variety of measures having in common the emphasis on natural functions of rivers, which may have been lost or degraded by human interventions (e.g. damming, construction of levees and embankments, sediment dredging, changing of natural forms of rivers, construction of infrastructure on the floodplain, etc.). Many European rivers have been significantly modified in the past decades to serve only one dominant function (e.g. navigation) or few more. However, one-sided use, disregarding of different functions, is no longer optimal and is being replaced by an integrated...
Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) is an emerging urban development paradigm aimed to minimise hydrological impacts of urban development on environment. In practice, the WSDU integrates stormwater, groundwater water supply and wastewater management to:
protect existing natural features and ecological processes;
maintain natural hydrologic behaviour of catchments;
protect water quality of surface and ground waters;
minimise demand on the reticulated water supply system;
minimise wastewater discharges to the natural environment;
integrate water into the landscape to enhance visual, social, cultural and ecological values.
WSUD aims for an...
Dune erosion results from wind action (surface erosion) and marine erosion of the toe and face of the dune. Erosion is a natural phenomenon that can be worsened by human activities. Dune construction, strengthening and rehabilitation refer to the restoration of the flood safety and sand reservoir functions of dunes. This include the following processes:
Dune grass planting: plant dune grasses on the face of the dune and the front to reduce wind speed across the surface and thereby trapping and holding sand. Planting vegetation helps to stabilise dunes and encourages dune recovery and may therefore be used after storm damage. Alternatively,...