Nature-Based Solutions Resource Guide 2.0
The Nature-Based Solutions Resource Guide 2.0, released by the White House in December of 2023, aims to encourage implementation and awareness of nature-based solutions employed by federal agencies and partners. The Guide defines nature-based solutions as “actions to protect, sustainably manage, or restore natural or modified ecosystems to address societal challenges, simultaneously providing benefits for people and the environment.” Nature-based solutions can be used to provide a wide range of benefits, such as supporting wildlife, reducing heat stress, reducing future disaster risk, and overcoming environmental injustices.
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The Biden Administration has committed to investing in nature-based solutions to advance climate, conservation, and equity goals. Several of the featured programs and resources in the Guide promote equity alongside climate benefits such as flood and drought risk reduction. For example, one of the featured programs, the Delaware River Basin Restoration Program, aims to increase equity by addressing racial and economic disparities in access to nature and conservation outcomes. The compendium of federal resources on nature-based solutions included in the Guide lists the benefits addressed by each resource, including equity. |
The Guide includes three sections:
Section 1: Federal Stories: Nature-Based Solutions in Action
This section describes 30 examples of different ways federal agencies are using nature-based solutions to achieve their goals. These examples include nature-based solutions federal agencies have implemented in their operations, such as making federal buildings and assets more resilient, as well as nature-based solutions implemented by communities that are supported by federal agencies.
Section 2: Federal Knowledge Resources, Tools, Guidance, and Technical Assistance
This section includes a summary and table of 279 federal knowledge resources, technical assistance, tools, and guidance on nature-based solutions. 77 of these resources were released in 2023. The Guide notes that there is a significant focus on reducing flood risks and creating infrastructure resilience in the resources and encourages agencies to develop additional resources for applying nature-based solutions to other benefits, such as jobs and equity.
Section 3: Federal Funding Relevant to Nature-Based Solutions
This section is a compendium of 140 federal funding programs that support nature-based solutions. Most of these programs include nature-based solutions as one of many eligible approaches to achieving the program’s goals, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grants (BRIC). The list of programs in the Guide specifies which project phases are eligible for funding (planning and design, implementation or construction, operations and maintenance, and monitoring).
Publication Date: December 9, 2023
Related Organizations:
- White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
- White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)
Sectors:
- Agriculture and food
- Biodiversity and ecosystems
- Coastal
- Emergency preparedness
- Forestry
- Land management and conservation
- Land use and built environment
- Public health
- Tribal
- Urban
- Frontline Communities
- Water infrastructure
- Water resources
- Wildlife
Resource Category:
Resource Types:
- Agency guidance/policy
- Funding program
Impacts:
