As a partner organization of NATURA, WCMER member schools are invited to join the conversation and collaboration opportunities!
Through all-hands meetings, thematic working groups, regional nodes, and synthesis writing workshops, NATURA works to accomplish their goals of synthesis and data sharing, and network coordination. Early-career researchers and practitioners are sponsored by NATURA to pay five-week visits to network partners. Further, NATURA trains postdoctoral scholars and graduate students through learning exchanges to networks around the globe. Through collaboration with partners, international students are invited to participate in these exchanges, hosted by US networks.
ABOUT NATURA
Cities and urbanized regions worldwide are exposed to extreme weather events and rising seas. They are at risk because their infrastructure often is in disrepair, no longer appropriate for more intense or frequent extreme events, or unable to keep up with rapid urban population growth. Traditional engineered infrastructure, such as stormwater drainage systems or sea walls, is usually designed for only one purpose and seldom can adapt to changing conditions. Solutions that are based on nature-preserving protective ecosystems, incorporating ecological elements or even mimicking nature in built infrastructure, offer flexibility in the face of changing conditions and provide multiple benefits to society, often at relatively low cost.
The Nature-based Solutions for Urban Resilience in the Anthropocene (NATURA) project links networks in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, North and Latin America, and globally to enhance connectivity among the world’s scholars and practitioners and improve the prospects for global urban sustainability. NATURA exchanges knowledge, shares data, and enhances communication among research disciplines and across the research-practice divide to advance urban resilience in face of growing threats of extreme weather events. As an important part of knowledge sharing, researchers and practitioners work together on applications of nature-based solutions (NBS) in a wide range of social, ecological, and technological contexts addressing five gaps:
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Synergistic benefits of bundles of NBS for urban resilience
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Role of social-cultural (S) context in NBS outcomes
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Role of ecological-biophysical (E) context in NBS outcomes
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Role of technological-infrastructural (T) context in NBS outcomes
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Role of SET interactions in NBS outcomes
Upcoming Events / Webinars
