T40. Building with Nature: from river corridors to coastlines

In the last decades new key concepts of resilience have become dominant in the context of environmental management, especially the Building with Nature strategies, that combine natural and anthropic components for the benefit of the society and natural systems. Nature based Solutions (NbS) implemented using, e.g., marshes, mangroves, dunes, or shellfish reefs could improve coastal environments and contribute to shores' protection thanks to their ability to reduce storm waves, storm surges, and to keep pace with sea-level rise. In riverine systems, natural flood management measures can reduce the rate/amount of runoff and improve the ability of floodplains to reduce flood impacts. NbS are also applied in deltaic systems. These solutions should be prioritised over traditional approaches that often generate drawbacks and lead to environmental degradation, interfere with natural dynamics, jeopardising natural systems and increasing the impact of storm events. The proposed session aims at collecting studies related to green solutions in riverine and coastal systems, which combine diverse approaches including geomorphology, Earth Observation and modelling, biogeosciences, natural hazards and risks, etc. The presentations should focus on the advantage of utilising NbS in contrast with traditional grey interventions.

CONVENERS: Riccardo Brunetta (Università di Ferrara), Clara Armaroli (Università di Bologna), Luca Mao (University of Lincoln UK).