Name

Mainstreaming nature-based solutions to unlock better value for water

Speakers

Granville Davies

Authors

Granville Davies, Jacobs, UK
Amina Aboobakar, The Rivers Trust, UK

Description

Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) can provide sustainable approaches to improve water quality, reduce pollution, enhance biodiversity and increase resilience to climate change. However, systemic barriers – including regulatory complexity, fragmented decision-making, limited investment, lack of evidence and standards, and inconsistent delivery approaches – hinder widespread NbS adoption.

The Mainstreaming NbS project, a five-year (2023-2028), Ofwat-funded (£8.9M) national initiative, involving 22+ multidisciplinary partners, addresses these challenges. The project aims to make NbS part of business-as-usual practices for better water and wastewater management, focusing on developing standardised risk and value frameworks, strategic coordination and collaboration to overcome regulatory barriers and drive large-scale investment, and lessons from regional case studies on NbS implementation.

The project will track evidence of impact from the £3.3bn of NbS investment earmarked for AMP8, as well as how NbS are being delivered beyond the water sector, to produce recommendations for PR29 and national policy on how these solutions can be better integrated into water and wastewater management, to deliver better value for customers and the environment. 

With this presentation, conference attendees will gain actionable insights into how this project is overcoming institutional barriers, enabling investment and driving policy change for NbS.

Time

11:35 AM - 12:00 PM

Location Name

Room 3

Track

11:20 - 14:55 Nature Based Solutions