International Guidelines on NNBF for Flood Risk Management

Dr Todd Bridges, National Lead of the Engineering With Nature initiative at the US Army Corps of Engineers recently chaired the launch event of the International Guidelines on Natural and Nature-Based Features (NNBF) for Flood Risk Management.

The virtual launch event was held Thursday, 16 September to collectively celebrate the monumental accomplishment and availability of the International Guidelines on NNBF for Flood Risk Management. The event was live-streamed on YouTube with over 700 live viewers.

The program included remarks by Dr. Todd Bridges, messages from guest speakers at partnering organizations around the world, and a panel discussion with individuals who helped author the guidelines.

The International Guidelines on NNBF for Flood Risk Management provide practitioners with the best available information concerning the conceptualization, planning, design, engineering, construction, and maintenance of NNBF to support resilience and flood risk reduction for coastlines, bays, and estuaries, as well as river and freshwater systems.

The NNBF Guidelines have been developed by Dutch national executive agency Rijkswaterstaat, the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Environment Agency in the UK. More than 180 experts from 77 organisations contributed to the book, providing the latest insights on themes such as performances, (co)benefits, and community engagement.

The Guidelines include 20 chapters organized into three sections: overarching themes, coastal features, and fluvial features. Each chapter begins with a list of its key, high-level messages, includes references to other chapters and uses icons and case studies to draw attention to key topics covered elsewhere in the Guidelines.