Guidelines on the Use of Natural and Nature-Based Features for Sustainable Coastal and Fluvial Systems

Transcription

1 on the Use of Natural and Nature-Based Features for Sustainable Coastal and Fluvial Systems March 22, 2018 Jonathan Simm Chief Technical Director (Resilience), HR Wallingford Todd Bridges Senior Research Scientist, Environmental Science, US Army Corps of Engineers Jo Guy NEAS / TEAM2100 Environment Manager, Environment Agency Nigel Pontee Global Practice Leader, Coastal Planning and Engineering, Jacobs

2 Nature-Based Features Perform During Hurricane Sandy

3 Value and Use of Natural Systems Following Hurricane Sandy: Risk industry-based tools used to quantify the economic benefits of coastal wetlands Temperate coastal wetlands saved more than $625 million in flood damages. In Ocean County, New Jersey, salt marsh conservation can significantly reduce average annual flood losses by more than 20%.

4 NNBF for Coastal and Fluvial Systems Natural and Nature-Based Features (NNBF) refers to those features that define natural coastal and fluvial landscapes and are either naturally occurring or engineered to mimic natural conditions. Some examples of coastal NNBF are beaches and dunes, salt marshes, oyster reefs and barrier islands. For fluvial systems examples - apart from floodplain restoration in rivers and streams include a range of features to detain and retain flood waters or otherwise create space for water.

5 International on the Use of Natural and Nature-Based Features for Sustainable Coastal and Fluvial Systems Multi-author: government, academia, NGOs, engineering firms, construction companies, etc. Addresses full NNBF life cycle in 3 main Parts Overarching Coastal Applications Fluvial Applications Purpose: Develop guidelines for using NNBF to provide engineering functions relevant to flood risk management while producing additional economic, environmental and social benefits.

6 Benefits of guidelines Technically robust and consistent use of NNBF, as a part of a multi-purpose projects Reinforcing the flexibility / adaptability of the NNBF whole life approach, Valuation and delivery of multiple benefits from NNBF: flood risk management, economic, social, environmental and Identifying science/engineering knowledge gaps in order to focus future R&D.

7 World Bank Principles and Implementation Guidance for Nature-Based Flood Protection NBFP Workshop, April

8 Focus on Principles and Performance of NNBF 1. System-scale perspective 2. Risk and benefit assessment for a full range of solutions 3. Standardised performance evaluation 4. Integration with ecosystem conservation and restoration 5. Adaptive management

9 World Bank Principles and Implementation Guidance for Nature-Based Flood Protection

10 Exploring nature-based solutions: the role of green infrastructure in mitigating the impacts of weather- and climate change-related natural hazards instead of automatically defaulting to grey solutions like dikes and pipes for flooding, we first should look at restoring floodplains or wetlands. Rather than building sea walls, we need to think about conserving sand banks...planners should compare green to grey and identify new opportunities for investing in nature, including a combination of green and grey approaches when nature-based solutions alone are insufficient. As planners explore how to accommodate infrastructure demands in the future, the lesson is clear: think about green before investing in grey. EEA Technical Report No 12/2015

11 Table of Contents Part 1: Informing the Use of NNBF Preface/Definitions Introduction Principles, Outcomes, Framework for NNBF System Considerations and Combining Elements Analysis of NNBF Benefits Performance Quantification and Metrics Monitoring, Maintenance, and Adaptive Management Community Engagement and Involvement Part 2: Coastal Systems Introduction Reefs Sub-Aquatic Vegetation Beaches and Dunes Wetlands and Intertidal Areas Upland Plant Communities Islands Enhancing Environmental Value of Conventional Infrastructure Part 3: Fluvial Systems Introduction Agricultural practices; land management Woodland and forest management Water retention and naturalization Use of floodplains (two-stage channels, offline storage) Green infrastructure in rivers

12 Development Approach Voluntary project team Editorial Board (Bridges, Simm, Beck, Mohan, Collins, Lodder) Individual Chapter Teams, with Co-Leads Peer review of final product Periodic, in-person working meetings combined with virtual engagement and drafting Collation and write-up of case studies

13 : Team Meeting #1; United States; Vicksburg, MS; October, 2016

14 : Team Meeting #2; United Kingdom; July, 2017

15 : Team Meeting #3; United States; Silver Spring, MD; Nov, 2017

16 : Team Meeting #4; Netherlands; Delft, 5-9 March, 2017

17 UK involvement to date Jonathan Simm (HR Wallingford, editorial board and framework chapter) Jo Guy (EA, coordinator) Oliver Burns (EA, beaches and dunes) Nigel Pontee (Jacobs, wetlands chapter co-lead + other) Lydia Burgess-Gamble (EA, Fluvial section) David Ramsbottom & Marta Roca (HR Wallingford, fluvial section)

18 Schedule June 2018: Chapter Teams deliver first drafts. Editorial Board review June-Sept th in-person meeting, autumn San Francisco, CA Dec 2018: second draft of chapters submitted to EB. Dec 2018-Feb 2019 Editorial Board review. March-June 2019: full document completed. July-Aug 2019: full document issued for peer review Document finalized Sept 2019-Feb Mar-April 2020: published.

19 Inputs sought Team members / contributions, especially for fluvial part Case study information and references Reviewers for peer review Summer 2019

20 Further information Contacts: Dr. Todd Bridges Dr. Jonathan Simm