Nature-based solutions

Natural and nature-based systems provide essential services and benefits to society, such as flood protection, water purification, and carbon storage. Such systems can be natural ecosystems, like forests, floodplains, beaches, and grasslands, or they can incorporate engineered features that use natural materials and are designed to mimic the functioning of natural ecosystems. A natural infrastructure project centers around the conservation, restoration, or emulation of an existing local natural ecosystem—the ecosystem is the infrastructure. Conventional thinking confines the benefit of natural areas to conservation or recreational purposes. This thinking fails to capture the protective role of nature, where healthy ecosystems provide critical protection against inland and coastal flooding in vulnerable regions such as the Greater Houston Area and the Texas Gulf Coast.

Texas Living Waters uses research, advocacy, and education to prioritize resilient, innovative, and nature-based solutions that address flooding, drought, and associated water supply and water quality strategies. We also inform and build the capacity of community leaders to advocate for and secure investments in nature-based solutions, where appropriate and desired by local residents.