Nature-based solutions (NbS) are a recent policy tool used to limit and cope with water-related risks such as flood risks while preserving biodiversity. This concept has been defined at a global scale by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and is now being adopted and implemented in many countries. NbS can be seen as an innovative way of overcoming the classical opposition between flood risk protection versus ecological preservation. However, so far little is known about how this globally-defined concept actually unfolds at national and sub-national scales.

The project “Nature-Based Solutions: from Theory to Practice” is a collaboration between INRAE, the National Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research, ENGEES, the National School for Water and Environmental Engineering, CNAM, The Conservatoire national des arts et métiers, and the University of California Berkeley, with Dr. Joana Guerrin leading the French team and Dr. Anna Serra-Llobet leading the US team. This project is focused on NbS related to flood risk reduction and compares (1) how France and the US are developing the concept of NbS, in particular to see how NbS is defined by different agencies and institutions in each country, (2) how NbS projects are implemented, and (3) what metrics are used to assess and evaluate the social and environmental impacts of these projects. This three-year project (2021-2023) has specific case studies in both countries.