NATURE-BASED SOLUTION ASSESSMENT TOOL (NBSAT)

Ecosystem Planning and Restoration

Ecosystems are areas where living organisms interact with the physical environment to create and sustain life. Healthy, natural ecosystems support biodiversity as well as provide valuable benefits to human communities. Damage to one part of an ecosystem can have negative effects on other ecosystems as well as the human environment.

Nature-based solutions are methods that achieve environmental and sustainability goals through the restoration, enhancement, and preservation of natural ecosystems. The challenge is quantifying the ecological and human benefits of applying nature-based solutions in a range of ecosystems.

The Nature-Based Solutions Assessment Tool (NBSAT) quantifies uplift from nature-based solution projects into five themes:

Water Quantity
Water Quality
Air Quality
Biodiversity and Habitat
Socio-Economics

The NBSAT is modular in design, allowing for adaptation and expansion to evaluate additional parameters and methods. The Tool can also be applied at different tiers of detail, allowing for rapid, preliminary project evaluations and more advanced assessments.

The NBSAT calculates and documents functions and ecosystem improvements that are provided from nature-based restoration and enhancement projects. The Tool can be used to compare and contrast individual project opportunities, establish specific goals for nature-based solution projects, perform cost-benefit analyses, provide clear and transparent documentation of project benefits, and track long-term progress towards SDG goals.

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