National Forum on Nature-Based Solutions 2026

The third annual National Forum on Nature-based Solutions (NbS) will bring together a diversity of sectors and backgrounds from around the country to discuss implementation, practice, and policy in the field of NbS. A committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) will convene a national Forum focused on nature-based solutions (NbS) as innovative and sustainable strategies to reduce risks such as flooding, coastal erosion, and extreme weather, while enhancing biodiversity, ecosystem functions, or community well-being. The three-day Forum will serve as a networking and knowledge-sharing event for professionals such as engineers, scientists, policymakers, planners, and others working on NbS to discuss best practices and challenges for widespread implementation. Participants will explore innovations in the application of NbS, with a focus on addressing scaling up these approaches and advancing collaborative solutions. Forum objectives include: Foster cross-sector collaboration by connecting practitioners, scientists, policymakers, community leaders, and financiers to share lessons learned and identify pathways for furthering implementation; Exchange practical knowledge and emerging evidence on how NbS are being designed, funded and monitored for increased uptake; and Bridge research, practice, and policy through interactive discussions that translate scientific findings, local knowledge, and practitioner experience into actionable insights for engineering, planning, and policy. A proceedings will be issued following the workshop by the National Academies. The event will include panels, keynotes, breakout discussion, networking receptions, lightning talks, a poster session, a field trip the first day, and more.