Natural Infrastructure: Opportunities to improve water resources management
Investments in water infrastructure are highly dependent on the health and proper functioning of the linked ecosystems that regulate water quantity and quality as well as sediment flows. Traditional built systems (grey infrastructure) usually require large investments for their construction and operation, at the same time they lack the flexibility to adapt to external changes in time. Integrating ecosystems into the design and operation of built water systems can bring an array of benefits, enhance adaptability to change and save costs in the long term.
Vertiente natural de agua en el páramo del Parque Nacional Cotopaxi
February 17, 2020 (Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹ûÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥). Increasing the implementation of Nature based Solutions (NbS) such as Natural Infrastructure in the water agenda require a good understanding of the links between ecosystem, soils and water processes.
It also requires a deep understanding of the economic, social and environmental benefits of integrating ecosystems into water management. The growing interest in the application of this approach, and on green-grey hybrids, is driven by the need to improve water resources management, meet the increased demand for water and face the growing impacts of climate change, including extreme events such as floods and droughts.
Natural infrastructure supports the accomplishment of several sustainable development goals, since it generates a series of co-benefits beyond water. For example, the restoration of a natural flood plain to reduce the risk of flooding in a city can, at the same time, can improve water quality, help recharging an aquifer, sustain fisheries and create recreational spaces for tourism.
One of the biggest barriers to the adoption of this approach is the lack of information on the diversity of natural infrastructure alternatives, its viability and its cost-effectiveness.
This document, produced in Spanish, reviews the concept of Natural Infrastructure as an opportunity to optimize the management of water systems in various contexts and motivates the adoption of this approach within project design and territory planning. It is aimed to water professionals, decision makers, river basin organizations and investors interested in mainstreaming NbS in the water sector.
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