Session Summary

Nature-based solutions (NBS) were introduced as a means of addressing natural hazards in urban areas. Best practice examples from Panama, Kuwait, Sri Lanka and Senegal were shared, and resources made available for design and implementation. A central tenet is that ecosystem-based solutions to urban hazards warrant investment both for their efficacy and for their co-benefits, such as improved air quality, aesthetics and amenity values. However, barriers to implementation include the need to engage communities to care for green infrastructure, large infrastructure footprints and land ownership issues, prohibitive institutional and legal environments, lack of capacity and lack of promotional and illustrative materials.

In Panama City, Panama, anticipated benefits from nature-based solutions included reduced flood risks, pollution control, enhanced open space amenity and human well-being, ecosystem connectivity and conservation, heat reduction and fishery protection through coastal wetland conservation. However, standing in the way of such benefits in Panama City are existing coastal developments, lack of clear regulations, lack of prioritization of financial resources and political transitions. As take aways, the relevance and under-utilization of ecosystem-based infrastructure was noted, as was the case specificity of NBS interventions, the need to include communities in maintenance and land ownership issues, and the need to grow the profile of NBS.