Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) provide cost-effective and efficient approaches to protect social infrastructure from floods, extreme heat, hurricanes, and other severe climate events. These solutions, supported by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), demonstrate tangible benefits such as energy savings, flood reduction, improved water management, and enhanced urban and coastal resilience through green roofs, vertical gardens, rainwater harvesting systems, green infrastructure, and ecosystem restoration.
Infrastructure across Latin America and the Caribbean faces increasing threats from natural hazards. The Caribbean alone suffers annual infrastructure losses of approximately $12.5 billion due to hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and floods. In response, NbS offer low-cost, adaptive strategies to safeguard schools, hospitals, homes, and other social infrastructure by sustainably managing and restoring natural ecosystems.
The IDB helps countries develop and integrate NbS into projects across multiple sectors and has published guidelines to support sustainable infrastructure planning. Studies show that every dollar invested in resilience projects using NbS can yield up to four dollars in economic returns, highlighting their efficiency and social benefits.
Examples of NbS in buildings include green roofs and vertical gardens, which improve energy efficiency, reduce urban heat, manage rainwater, and enhance indoor air quality. Rainwater harvesting systems support water autonomy, reduce flood risks, and lower the need for costly drainage infrastructure, while sustainable urban drainage systems mitigate flooding in public transport and urban areas.
Urban green infrastructure, such as parks, green corridors, and conservation areas, helps absorb rainwater, reduce flooding, improve air quality, and strengthen urban resilience. The CityAdapt project in Xalapa, Mexico, demonstrates this by creating parks, green corridors, infiltration gardens, and artificial wetlands, restoring watersheds, and promoting sustainable soil and food management. Similar initiatives in San Salvador have integrated green corridors and urban parks while training municipal technicians to assess ecosystem services.
Ecosystem restoration, including wetlands, rivers, mangroves, and coastal areas, is essential for resilience. These natural spaces regulate water cycles, reduce flood risks, protect coastlines from erosion, provide habitats for biodiversity, and absorb carbon. In the Dominican Republic, the IDB will finance projects to restore coral reefs, mangroves, and coastal dunes, combining gray and green infrastructure to enhance coastal sustainability and resilience.
Investing in NbS strengthens communities’ capacity to withstand climate threats while generating savings in energy, water, and maintenance. Despite challenges such as limited technical expertise and maintenance knowledge, the IDB plays a key role by providing technical assistance, sharing best practices, and building institutional capacities to ensure sustainable integration of NbS into social infrastructure projects.
