Nature-based Resilience for Gulf Coast Communities

Please RSVP to expedite check-in A live webcast will be streamed at 3:00 PM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting) The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing on initiatives and partnerships that are helping protect Gulf Coast shorelines and communities from extreme weather events and other coastal hazards. The briefing will showcase nature-based solutions that support coastal resilience, such as wetlands restoration and other “natural infrastructure,” as well as the “greening” of highways and other traditional “gray” infrastructure. This approach leverages the sustainable management and/or restoration of natural or modified ecosystems to protect people, communities, roadways, buildings, industries, and habitats. Government agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of the Interior, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Transportation, are piloting and implementing nature-based infrastructure projects in the Gulf Coast and around the country. Such projects can be more cost effective and durable against extreme weather events than gray infrastructure, while providing additional health, environmental and economic benefits. The panelists will describe how national, regional, state and local governments and organizations are collaborating to integrate nature-based solutions into policy and practice.