Nature-Based Solutions (NBS)

Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) are adaptation measures focused on the PROTECTION, RESTORATION, and/or MANAGEMENT of ecological systems to safeguard public health, provide clean air and water, increase natural hazard resilience, and sequester carbon. Incorporating NBS in local planning and design projects produces long-term solutions that benefit human and natural systems.

NBS offer numerous co-benefits that address challenges faced by communities:

CLIMATE RESILIENCE by reducing risks from flooding, erosion, drought, and heat islands, keeping our most vulnerable neighbors and community assets safer;
COST-EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVES to the large investments needed to modernize our aging infrastructure, or providing unanticipated repair work and safety improvements resulting from climate change hazards;
SUPPORTING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES through biodiverse systems, nature provides clean air, clean water, and food security;
SPURRING ECONOMIC ACTIVITY creating jobs in local natural resource-based industries (including agriculture, forestry, construction and maintenance, outdoor recreation and tourism); and
ENRICHING HUMAN HEALTH AND WELL-BEING by providing opportunities for outdoor physical activity and visual and physical connections to restorative outdoor spaces.

Municipalities ready to implement priority actions with an MVP Action Grant may consider the steps outlined in this toolkit as possible ways to incorporate Nature-Based Solutions with their projects.

Please share your thoughts and feedback with us as we work to improve this “living document” as a resource for Massachusetts communities. Comments can be emailed to hillary.king@mass.gov. A PDF of this toolkit is available here.

Learn about the role of Nature-Based Solutions in Climate Adaptation

Learn More

Today, the Commonwealth is experiencing stronger, more frequent storms, longer periods of drought, more days over 90-degrees, and rising sea levels that enhance flooding and erosion – and our communities are struggling under these conditions. Trends show that these climate change hazards are expected to increase in severity over the coming decades, causing even more strain on our society, environment, and infrastructure. This strain includes public health risks associated with heat, polluted water, poor air quality, and safety risks from unprecedented flooding impacts.

The challenges presented by these conditions demand holistic approaches to the way we plan, design, develop, and interact with our environment. NBS can help us prepare for and respond to these unprecedented challenges:

NBS is a broad toolbox which includes strategies that increase climate resilience and promote public health, clean water, and/or carbon sequestration by protecting and/or restoring existing ecosystems like forests and wetlands.
NBS manage the hazardous impacts of the built environment—like floodwater and pollution runoff from paved areas-when strategies like green stormwater infrastructure are employed.
NBS can achieve multiple benefits, and can be increasingly self-sustaining through time, especially those strategies that protect or restore functioning ecosystems.

Whether your location is urban, rural, or somewhere in between, there are NBS adaptation opportunities you can utilize – from policy, education, and land conservation strategies, to restoration and management approaches. The next sections of this toolkit hope to encourage broad collaboration and thoughtful investigation to develop NBS that are right for your community.

More about Ecosystem Services:

Healthy ecosystems provide direct and indirect benefits to our communities. The following is a list of "goods and services" that are produced in nature. The list is a result of consolidated research completed by the Sustainable Sites Initiative, listed in the SITES v2 Rating System For Sustainable Land Design and Development.

Global climate regulation - Maintaining balance of atmospheric gases at historic levels - Maintaining healthy air quality - Sequestering carbon
Local climate regulation - Regulating local temperature, precipitation, and humidity through shading, evapotranspiration, and windbreaks
Air and water cleansing - Removing and reducing pollutants in air and water
Water supply retention - Storing and conserving water within watersheds and aquifers
Erosion and sediment control - Retaining soil within an ecosystem - Preventing damage from erosion and siltation
Hazard mitigation - Reducing vulnerability to damage from flooding, storm surge, wildfire, and drought
Pollination - Providing for the reproduction of crops and other plants
Habitat functions - Providing refuge and reproduction habitat to plants and animals, contributing to the conservation of biological and genetic diversity and evolutionary processes
Waste decomposition and treatment - Breaking down waste - Cycling nutrients
Human health and well-being - Enhancing physical, mental, and social well-being as a result of interaction with nature
Food and renewable non-food products - Producing food, fuel, energy, medicine, or other products for human use
Cultural benefits - Enhancing cultural, educational, aesthetic, and spiritual experiences as a result of interaction with nature

More information & suggested resources:

Taking Cues From Nature to Adapt to Climate Change: A Communications Resource for Nature-Based Solutions – written for practitioners to provide more climate adaptation and ecosystems context for nature-based solutions and highlight their many co-benefits for people and nature (Mass ECAN).
An Overview of NBS by the Nature-Based Solutions Initiative, based at the University of Oxford. Definition, guiding principles, examples, and an animation “explaining the fundamental importance of restoring and protecting natural habitats to help us adapt to the impacts of climate change and slow further warming.”
Mass Audubon's Value of Nature Fact Sheets looking at the financial and health benefits provided to us by forests, coastal areas, wetlands & waterways, grasslands & farmlands, and urban green spaces.
Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions – released 7/23/20 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to increase demand for and mainstream NBS, while ensuring their quality and credibility.
This Compendium of NBS presents nature-based and ‘grey’ solutions to address climate- and water-related challenges in European cities. It focuses on the six challenges: heat stress, river flooding, surface water flooding, coastal flooding, water scarcity, and poor water quality. (GrowGreen partnership)
NOAA Digital Coast: A website focused on helping communities address coastal issues. Includes a short video describing nature's benefits along the coast.
Massachusetts Resilient Lands Initiative: Expanding Nature's Benefits Across the Commonwealth, A Vision and Strategy. January 2023.
Municipal Natural Assets Initiative: assists Canadian municipalities with managing natural assets, including aquifers, forests, streams, riparian areas and foreshores.
Community Grant Finder: Commonwealth resource for Potential NBS Funding and/or Technical Assistance

The table below illustrates how multiple benefits can be provided by different NBS strategies.

A table listing different nature-based solutions, and indicating whether their implementation provides different environmental, social/cultural, and/or economic benefits. Source: Compendium of Nature-based and ‘grey’ solutions to address climate- and water-related problems in European cities, released March 2020 by GROWGREEN.

Team up with local organizations to understand regional vulnerabilities

Team Up with Partners

By engaging with a diverse set of partners and understanding basic ecological processes, municipalities can craft competitive MVP projects with a strong NBS component.

Though this toolkit is focused on employing NBS, all MVP Core Principles should be addressed when considering adaptive strategies. Not only can this help build a competitive MVP Action Grant application, but also provide the community with a holistic framework for making lasting change.

Successful implementation of NBS requires an interdisciplinary process, leaning on the broad knowledge base and expertise of residents and professionals of diverse backgrounds.

Reach out to relevant local, state, and federal groups listed below to make connections throughout your community and broaden your understanding of its natural characteristics, development history, and culture. Your MVP Regional Coordinator is also poised to assist in identifying the right players for your potential MVP Planning Process or Action Project.
Engage with community members impacted by shifting climate hazards to help ensure that the risks and experiences of the hazards are fully understood, and that solutions include primary outcomes and co-benefits that will appeal to and improve the lives of those most at risk.

List of Local Agencies/Organizations

The following agencies/organizations may be integral to assisting your community with identifying potential NBS for a more resilient future.

Municipal Staff / Commissions (including your Conservation / Natural Resources Dept., Agricultural Commission, Tree Warden / Forestry Department)
Regional Planning Agencies
Local Land Trusts
Watershed Associations / Groups
Massachusetts Ecosystem Climate Adaptation Network (Mass ECAN)
Non-Government Organizations (NGOs)
Tribal Communities
Community-based environmental groups
Faith-based social/climate justice groups
Local schools / educational institutions (reach out to science, planning, and/or design departments; environmental educators or groups/clubs/societies)
Wetland professionals, ecologists, and other environmental scientists
Arborists, landscapers, farmers, foresters
Landscape Architects, Engineers, and other environmental design professionals

List of State/Federal Agencies

These agencies may also have knowledge about, or efforts related to, resilience actions you are considering. Please reach out to your MVP Regional Coordinator for assistance in contacting these agencies:

MA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
MA Division of Ecological Restoration (DER)
MA Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM)
MA Division of Fisheries & Wildlife (DFW)
MA Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF)
MA Division of Conservation Services (DCS)
MA Division of Conservation and Recreation (DCR)
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 1
US Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), Northeast Region
US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), New England District

MVP Partnership Spotlight: Resilient Taunton Watershed Network (RTWN)

Formed in 2014, RTWN's overarching goal is to promote the resiliency of the Taunton Watershed in the face of climate change and development, considering ecological outcomes as well as economic, social, and environmental justice issues. RTWN meets bi-monthly as a collaborative group with representatives from over 15 local, non-profit, state, regional, and federal agencies and organizations.

You can check out the map of restoration projects RTWN has created to track efforts throughout the watershed.

Image from the Resilient Taunton Watershed Network brochure. Source: SRPEDD website (accessed 10/23/2023).

Craft NBS projects that promote ecological and public health

Craft NBS Projects

When thinking about Nature-Based Solutions projects that might work for your community and developing an MVP grant proposal:

Consider lessons learned from responses to past climate events;
Involve local partners - residents, business owners, and community leaders - in the process of generating solutions;
Learn about successful strategies and barriers encountered by other communities, regions, and organizations;
Think about using new technologies and reusing existing technologies in new ways; AND
Consider a variety of strategies and different timelines.

Nature-Based Solutions can be explored over various scales, from a single parcel to a regional watershed. Holistic planning can help deploy NBS to address inland and coastal flooding, increasing heat, and other climate impacts, at any scale.

One approach to planning for NBS that could apply at any scale is to investigate the root cause of the issue at hand and explore solutions that could reverse or mitigate the cause rather than temporarily treating symptoms.

Image of a flooded roadway A highly developed highway experiences flooding during a spring rainstorm

Map illustrating a stream system disrupted by development Looking at local mapping and geospatial data may help identify the root cause. Source: MassMapper

As a hypothetical example, in a developed area experiencing increasing floods, the root cause might be that development has disrupted the natural flow of water drainage. Here, the pavement and existing undersized stormwater infrastructure may be exacerbating the flooding. Some Nature-Based Solutions to this hypothetical example include:

Removing excess pavement and implementing green stormwater infrastructure that relies on plants, soil, and grading to slow and store rain water and runoff.
Engineering the solution using climate change data makes that same solution more climate resilient by addressing the projected increase in precipitation.
Engaging landowners in this drainage area to address the problem, and providing education and outreach materials on ways to treat and store stormwater creates awareness and individual responsibility.
Planting trees and other vegetation in the area may also help with air quality, heat, and/or public health impacts to increase the co-benefits of a project.

NBS Case Studies from other resources

The Division of Ecological Restoration Project Map: explore over 100 of DER’s projects, restoring acres of tidal wetlands and miles of rivers and freshwater habitats. DER also actively assists municipalities in re-placing undersized, perched, and/or degraded culverts located in an area of high ecological value through their Culvert Replacement Municipal Assistance Grant Program.
Naturally Resilient Communities (Using Nature to Address Flooding) –successful project case studies from across the country to help communities learn and identify Nature-Based Solutions.
Urban Nature Atlas: contains 1,000 examples of NBS from across 100 European cities. Search by setting type, challenges addressed, and/or project cost (EU).
Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE) case studies are searchable by scale, sector, climate change impacts, location, adaptation phase, and habitat. Managed by EcoAdapt, the tool allows you to search their database of documents and tools as well as projects.
FEMA - Types of Nature-Based Solutions: Browse NBS practices in three categories: watershed/landscape scale, neighborhood or site-scale, coastal practices.

Case Study #1: Deerfield Resilience Policy

Case Study #1: NBS as Policy

NBS Protection strategies often include non-structural work, like reviewing ordinances and bylaws to develop conservation, natural resource, or flood overlay districts. Often planning and regulatory projects will help lay groundwork to support future NBS implementation.

A Resilient Deerfield River Floodplain

With Action Grant funding awarded to the Town in FY18, FY19, and FY20, Deerfield has been addressing flood resilience along the Deerfield River through multiple efforts:

Updating zoning and development controls in the floodplain.
Incorporating new flood maps into bylaw updates.
Revising zoning/bylaws to promote climate resilience and low impact development.
Creating a town-wide green infrastructure policy for public projects.
Public climate awareness engagement.
Emergency flood evacuation planning.
Design, permitting and construction for replacing priority culverts.
Installing green stormwater infrastructure.

On April 22, 2020, the Selectboard adopted a Green Infrastructure and Climate Resiliency Policy. The goals of the policy are to:

Promote the use of green street facilities and green infrastructure in public and private development as a cost-effective and sustainable practice for stormwater management in current and future projects wherever possible. This includes: road construction and reconstruction projects; sewer projects; and new development and redevelopment projects.
Promote climate resiliency in public buildings and infrastructure and private development.

Deerfield’s Green Infrastructure Policy and Bylaws can be seen here

Other considerations for "non-structural" NBS projects:

Collect data and understand the climate challenges faced by the natural resources and ecosystems in your municipality.
Identify and fill critical information gaps, like mapping stormwater infrastructure or modeling it using projected precipitation data to highlight future flooding areas.
Perform a feasibility assessment, for example, to find where a rain garden or constructed wetland would be beneficial to a certain area.
Review and revise local guidelines or regulations to allow and/or encourage NBS like Low Impact Development (LID).
Generate support and understanding for NBS by providing staff and/or community training on green infrastructure maintenance, or community outreach to increase awareness of climate change and ecosystem services.

Tools and resources for planning and regulatory NBS projects:

Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) Climate Resilience Land Use Strategies: Regulatory Language and Policy Examples.
The Massachusetts Wildlife Climate Action Tool provides a good introduction to creating a stand-alone climate action plan, or ways to integrate climate change (and NBS) into other existing plans (like hazard mitigation, open space and recreation, transportation improvement, or master plans).
Mass Audubon’s (LID) Fact Sheets: This series of five fact sheets helps community officials, residents, and others understand the benefits of Low Impact Development (LID), Green Infrastructure (GI), and sustainable design.
EcoAdapt’s resources for vulnerability assessments: three resources providing guidance to conducting and analyzing climate change risk and vulnerability assessments from: 1) National Wildlife Federation and partners, 2) NOAA Coastal Services Center, and other researchers.
The Nature Conservancy Procurement Guide to Nature-Based Solutions: designed to help communities utilize the right RFP language that will allow experts to respond with their best recommendations for managing flood and stormwater hazards.

Case Study #2: Pine Island Pond Watershed Lands Project, Mattapoisett

Case Study #2: Land Acquisition as NBS

“Protection” strategies also include conservation easements and land acquisitions – these often support multiple co-benefits, for instance: hazard mitigation, air and water cleansing, wildlife protection, recreation and/or agricultural opportunities, and more.

Mattapoisett's FY19 Action Grant

This partnership between the Town, the Mattapoisett Land Trust and the Buzzards Bay Coalition resulted in the purchase of 120 acres of pristine forest, streams, freshwater wetlands and coastal salt marsh. The conservation restriction, co-held by the Town and Buzzards Bay Coalition, will safeguard this important water system into the future and prevent additional development from occurring within an area vulnerable to coastal storm flooding. Additional co-benefits include air and water cleansing, wildlife protection, and expanded recreational opportunities.

maps showing hurricane surge and BioMap 2 data Climate data and projections show this location's high vulnerability to sea level rise and storm surge.

orthophoto outlining land to be protected near adjacent protected lands Acquisition outlined in red. Green-shaded parcels highlight nearby, existing protected lands.

aerial view of Pine Island Pond Looking south toward Pine Island Pond from the newly protected land

Links to other NBS conservation resources and programs

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Climate Adaptation Fund: Practitioner Resources include reports and guides for those looking to use and/or fund conservation approaches to address climate change impacts.
Community Incentives for Nature-Based Flood Solutions: This TNC guide looks at FEMA’s Community Rating System (CRS) to leverage natural solutions to protect communities and reduce flood insurance premiums.
Portland Water District (PWD, Maine): This utility supplies water to over 150,000 people in Southern Maine, with and active land conservation program and outreach/free education programs through their website.
Charles River Natural Valley Storage Area: Through 30 September 2016, the project [harnessing ecosystem services for flood protection through natural resource protection and other NBS] has prevented approximately $11,932,000 in flood damages (not counting for inflation) – from the Area’s USACE 2017 Draft Master Plan.
Philadelphia’s LandCare Program is a partnership between the City and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) that seeks to turn vacant lots into “positive public green space.” (PHS, 2020)
Massachusetts Resilient Lands Initiative: Expanding Nature's Benefits Across the Commonwealth, A Vision and Strategy. January 2023.

Case Study #3: Coonamessett River Restoration

Case Study #3: Restore with NBS

In areas where ecological functions may have previously been disregarded, damaged, or destroyed, reestablishing natural systems will often support multiple co-benefits.

Falmouth's FY19 Action Grant

The culmination of over a decade of funding and partnerships, MVP funding aided in Phase 2 restoration of the river, including:

Removing the “Middle Dam" and constructing a new pedestrian boardwalk in its place.
Replacing a failing public road-stream crossing (culvert).
Restoring the site's remaining 39 acres of cranberry bog complex.
Reconstructing 3,000 linear feet of the Coonamessett River.

More information about the project can be found on the Coonamessett River Trust website.

before and after photos of the road-stream crossing Before and after images of replacement road crossing

fish-eye aerial photo of the restored cranberry bog complex Restored river channel and associated wetlands

More ways to restore with NBS:

Remove paved surfaces on vacant lots to improve soil health, plant vegetation that attracts pollinators, and/or allow stormwater runoff to soak into the ground.
Include green roof design, outdoor classrooms, and a robust site restoration plan to the property identified for reuse as the community’s new school.
Construct living shorelines, which are a self-sustaining solution for erosion protection. Example: Plant beachgrass on coastal dunes to reduce erosion and maintain vegetation that can reduce storm surge impacts.
Master planning and prioritizing restoration projects through urbanized areas, such as daylighting streams, resizing culverts, or discontinuing and removing roadways. These types of projects, in hand with stormwater management techniques mentioned in the next section – can leverage multiple NBS to maximize co-benefits and climate resilience for a broad cross-section of the community.

Links to other NBS restoration resources and programs:

The Massachusetts Healthy Soils Action Plan, released 2023.
Greening the Gateway Cities – MA Urban Canopy Project
Resilient Taunton Watershed Network – Map of restoration projects throughout the watershed
Division of Ecological Restoration (DER) Project Map across MA

Case Study #4: Urban Forest Climate Resiliency Master Plan

Case Study #4: NBS Management

The management category of NBS looks to the history of human land and resource management in our various communities and sectors of the economy. These NBS approaches will incorporate elements of ecosystems, or mimic natural processes in human-built and altered areas, including anything from urban centers to working and rural landscapes.

Brookline's FY20 MVP Action Grant

The Town of Brookline developed a research- and data-based, actionable Urban Forest Climate Resiliency Master Plan (UFCRMP). In addition to identifying opportunities for tree planting, the plan also includes recommendations on operations, budget allocation, best management practices, and emergency response procedures. Recommendations have considered specific climate impacts on Brookline’s tree canopy.

Forum presentations in 2020 outlined the goals of the project and process as the following:

Position the Town to proactively and equitably prepare for and protect against the impacts of climate change on public and private trees.
Mitigate the impacts of climate change by strengthening the ecological functions and values provided by a healthy, balanced and sustainable tree canopy.
Identify areas/communities that are under-served in terms of tree planting and/or are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
Conduct outreach and engage the community throughout the process. Educate the public on topics including (but not limited to) climate change, climate equity, urban heat island effect, and the functions and values of the urban canopy as it relates to climate.

More information can be found on the City's project webpage

presentation slide listing the benefits of an urban forest Presentation slides listing benefits of an urban forest...

presentation slide listing the challenges of an urban forest ...and recognizing the challenges of maintaining the urban forest

tree inventory results for Brookline Summary of Benefits from Brookline's tree infrastructure

More ways to manage with NBS:

Encourage sustainable agriculture and forestry practices to support the needs of community members with local farm and forest products. (Consider this article from TNC's Perspectives Blog: Regenerative Food Systems, producing food—whether on land or at sea—in ways that actively restore habitat and protect biodiversity in and around production areas while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.)
Incorporate NBS into new construction, redevelopment, and retrofits.
Provide incentive toward personal land stewardship; enabling our homes, economy, and built landscapes to foster healthy air, water, and food systems.
Initiate or support urban forestry and tree planting programs. (Resource: USFS Urban Forestry Toolkit)

Links to other NBS management resources and programs:

MassWildlife Habitat Management Toolbox: A variety of tools are used by MassWildlife to create, restore, and maintain a diversity of open habitat types, including grassland, shrubland and young forest.
Grow Green: Compendium of Nature-Based and ‘grey’ solutions to address climate- and water-related problems in European cities. This March 2020 document presents nature-based and ‘grey’ solutions to address climate- and waterrelated challenges in European cities. It focuses on the six challenges that are most common across European cities and which can be addressed through nature-based solutions: heat stress, river flooding, surface water (or pluvial) flooding, coastal flooding, water scarcity, and poor water quality.
Engineering with Nature is the intentional alignment of natural and engineering processes to efficiently and sustainably deliver economic, environmental, and social benefits through collaborative processes. (US Army Corps of Engineers)
US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Northeast Climate Hub provides technical support for land managers responding to forest and ecosystem challenges in the context of climate change, regional assessments on ecosystem vulnerability and adaptation planning, outreach and education for land managers to understand climate change, and education on adaptation in order to minimize risks.
Living Shorelines in New England:
- Profile pages - detailed fact sheets for 8 types of living shorelines, with information on design schematics/techniques, siting characteristics/ design considerations, case studies, etc.)
- State of the Practice overview - 2017 TNC report providing a range of practical considerations for property managers, regulators, coastal municipal leaders, scientists and practitioners, who are interested in advancing living shoreline policies and practices.
US EPA Resources:
- Green Infrastructure Cost-Benefit Resources
- Soak Up the Rain stormwater public outreach and education website
- EPA Resilience and Adaptation in New England (RAINE) database: a collection of vulnerability, resilience and adaptation reports, plans and webpages at the state, regional and community level.
- How’s My Waterway Tool assembles publicly available water quality data into a user-friendly package of information to help identify areas where green infrastructure can improve water quality, assist in the ecological restoration of water bodies, and have a positive impact on aquatic resources and recreational opportunities.

Please reach out to hillary.king@mass.gov with comments, suggestions, updates, and/or additional project, tool, and resource suggestions. Special thanks to Sara Burns, Melissa Ocana, Danielle Perry & Alexandra Vecchio for their review of, and contributions to, this Toolkit.

Kara Runsten, MVP Program Director

E: kara.runsten@mass.gov | P: (617) 312-1594

Marissa Robertson, MVP Program Deputy Director

E: marissa.robertson2@mass.gov | P: (617) 352-0186

Courtney Rocha, MVP Southeast Regional Coordinator

E: courtney.rocha@mass.gov | P: (617) 877-3072

Michelle Rowden, MVP Northeast Regional Coordinator

E: michelle.rowden@mass.gov | P: (857) 343-0097

Carolyn Norkiewicz, MVP Greater Boston Regional Coordinator

E: carolyn.m.norkiewicz@mass.gov | P: (617) 894-7128

Hillary King, MVP Central Regional Coordinator

E: hillary.king@mass.gov | P: (617) 655-3913