Evaluating and tracking investments in natural infrastructure to reduce coastal flooding hazards

Abstract

Protection and restoration of natural infrastructure are fairly new tactics to reduce coastal flood hazards. Increasingly, floodplain managers and environmental organizations have advanced use of these solutions and communities have embraced them, owing to the perceived multiple benefits derived from these projects. Assessing progress in the use of natural infrastructure solutions requires means to account for projects. One way to measure progress is to track investments made in such projects. This paper analyzes and estimates the United States’ investments in natural infrastructure and provides a replicable method for determining whether a project qualifies as an investment in natural infrastructure that could reduce flood hazard and, therefore, have a coastal risk reduction benefit. Estimates of annual investment between 2012 and 2018 indicate increasing, yet variable, annual investment. Better data availability would improve the accuracy of findings.