With increasing threats due to climate change, defense programs throughout the United States are investing in collaborations that will allow them to better understand and address the ways that extreme weather, climate change, and other hazards could impact missions. The Institute for resilient infrastructure systems provides comprehensive resilience planning for bases and communities around the country.

Nature is humanity’s most foundational infrastructure, providing the air we breathe and water we drink, alongside many other benefits. For resilient humans, we require resilient ecosystems.

We translate our expertise in ecology into nature-positive design. Biodiversity is an essential aspect of the natural environment, but one that has historically been undervalued and poorly conserved. We propose a fundamental shift in approach: biodiversity conservation and enhancement as a broadly-integrated research topic beyond environmental science.

It can be difficult to directly compare the costs and benefits of natural infrastructure to conventional infrastructure, and the issue of comparing “apples to oranges” is one of the most significant barriers to natural infrastructure implementation. However, finding ways to properly value the benefits natural systems provide is essential in ensuring that future infrastructure projects best serve communities.

Often, disaster planning includes reacting when things go wrong. But many communities are seeking proactive changes that they can make to help increase their resilience when natural disaster strikes. IRIS researchers work with communities around the world to help them enact changes that will build resilience for the long term.