Welcome! This page is for participants of the Evaluating the Role of Regulations discussion groups. Please proceed through the following three short action items below:
First, read this brief overview of the project.
Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are increasingly recognized as a critical element of adapting coastal systems to support infrastructure and environmental systems and reduce risks posed by sea level rise, coastal storms, changing environmental conditions, among other challenges. The widespread and scaled-up adoption of NbS faces multiple challenges, including regulatory hurdles. This project engages key actors closely involved in developing and implementing NbS projects and associated regulatory programs for the purpose of developing insights regarding project development, permitting, and effective implementation. The goal is to help project leaders (government agencies, businesses, and other organizations) and regulatory programs develop and permit effective NbS projects.
A team of researchers from the University of Georgia will convene discussions with participants from around the country in a series of virtual meetings. Meeting participants will include regulators who review and approve NbS projects and project developers who propose and implement these projects. Discussions are intended to identify best practices and innovative and replicable solutions to regulatory requirements and challenges. Participation in the project is voluntary and all responses will be kept anonymous. Individual responses will not be linked to any person or organization.
Responses will only be used and reported in aggregate to help us understand trends in how nature-based projects are implemented and supported. The intent is to provide conditions for open sharing of information and ideas.
This work is part of the NOAA Adaptation Sciences (AdSci) program, and the team will compile findings into a published report to help guide future NbS projects.
The main audiences for this work are project leaders who want to implement NbS and the regulatory agencies responsible for approvals. The organized discussions and analysis of published research and studies will be used to identify 1) common regulatory requirements for NbS, 2) effective means for satisfying those requirements, 3) common ‘sticking points’ encountered in permitting and means for overcoming them, 4) best practices for upscaling and accelerating implementation of NbS, 5) best practices for facilitating regulatory review and permitting and 6) other relevant challenges and opportunities.
The overall aim of this work is to improve understanding and communication between NbS project developers and regulators and to make it easier for communities and organizations across the country to adopt NbS and strengthen their resilience.