Our communities must combat climate change and nature loss, and prepare more for changing climates. A groundbreaking research paper led by Heather Tallis (M.S. '99, marine sciences), a Senior Fellow with the university’s Center for Coastal Climate Resilience (CCCR), presents a comprehensive framework for integrating nature into policy-making to help make that happen.
The study, “Mainstreaming Nature in U.S. Federal Policy,” which appeared in the Aug. 2 issue of Science, was developed in collaboration with Yale University, Stanford University, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
The paper builds on major policy advances made by the Biden-Harris Administration in recent years and proposes criteria for policies that can systematically improve decision-making processes across economic, regulatory, security, and infrastructure policies by incorporating nature.
Economy, national security, and health depend on nature
The study points out that the economy, national security, and health are intrinsically linked to nature, but current policy development often overlooks nature's critical roles. It argues that siloed approaches in environmental and land-management agencies are insufficient and calls for integrated policies that consider the interconnections among various policy domains and the multifaceted aspects of nature.
“When we leave nature out of decisions, we can miss opportunities and waste taxpayer dollars,” said Tallis. “By integrating nature into our policies, we can make smarter, more transparent decisions. With recent U.S. advances, researchers have a crucial role to play in speeding change and making policies effective.”
Introducing the CASE Criteria
Mainstreaming nature will require many policy changes so the paper introduces a framework to increase the pace and effectiveness of mainstreaming efforts. This CASE framework encourages policies that are:
- Cross-Sectoral: Policies should address interactions with the environment across all major sectors. For example, the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive mandates consistent environmental impact reporting across diverse sectors.
- Appropriate: Nature can be relevant at any point in the decision-making process, and policies should ensure that decision-makers consider all substantial options, costs, benefits, risks, and perspectives, including those related to the environment.
- Strategic: Focusing on policy decisions that have significant environmental impacts, such as infrastructure investments, maximizes human benefits, and minimizes harm.
- Evidence-Based: Effective mainstreaming policies should draw on evidence to identify when connections to nature are not as relevant as when they are.
Significant advances in U.S. federal policy
How have mainstreaming efforts been advancing in the U.S.?
“The Biden-Harris Administration has worked tirelessly to advance evidence-based policy supported by science. Accounting for nature in every aspect of policymaking is a key step in that work,” said Jane Lubchenco, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s Deputy Director for Climate and Environment. “Incorporating nature into strategic policy decisions across domains is both good governance and the pathway to a more sustainable, thriving planet.”
The paper highlights several recent U.S. federal policy actions and discusses how they align with the CASE criteria:
- Natural Capital Accounts and the National Nature Assessment: The starting point of many federal decisions is a review of the nation’s assets. To strengthen the view of our natural assets, the U.S. committed to producing natural capital accounts and embedding natural asset reporting into official economic statistics. Looking beyond the economy, the first-ever U.S. National Nature Assessment is underway to evaluate the status, trends, and projections of U.S. lands, waters, wildlife, and biodiversity, and how they affect our health, security, and culture.
- Resilient Infrastructure Guidance: Investments in nature will not be made if they are not considered viable options. Some nature-based solutions, like restored coral reefs or river floodplains, can make infrastructure like roads and bridges more resilient to flooding and erosion. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has directed federal agencies to consider nature-based solutions for infrastructure resilience, making it clear that these options should be on the table when agencies are looking for solutions.
- Benefit-Cost Analysis Guidance: OMB also updated instructions to agencies, which had been in place since the George W. Bush Administration, and reinforced the need to consider nature in analyses agencies do in designing regulations or selecting projects. OMB also issued a supplement to the guidance to help agencies consider nature in a consistent way, regardless of whether agencies have an environmental mission.
- Nature-Based Solutions Roadmap: The 2022 national Nature-Based Solutions Roadmap created the first U.S. strategy across all federal executive branch agencies to elevate nature as a priority issue for climate change, economic prosperity, and equity.
The study’s co-authors contributed towards these policy actions while working at OSTP. Before joining UC Santa Cruz, Tallis served as assistant director for biodiversity and conservation sciences in OSTP, initiating the National Nature Assessment and a National Science and Technology Council subcommittee to support OMB’s new guidance, co-chairing the 15-agency team that created the national roadmap, and contributing to the OMB guidance.
Research and education opportunities
The study calls for increased collaboration between researchers and policymakers to strengthen the evidence base and support policy implementation. It advocates for new curricula and training programs to enhance understanding of nature-based solutions and emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary research to address data gaps and improve environmental assessments.
“Past policy calls to ‘mainstream nature’ have been vague and meant to ‘feel good’. We have been working with decision-makers for the past decade to quantify how to include nature in national accounting and benefit-cost analysis”, said Michael W. Beck, director of the Center for Coastal Climate Resilience. “We welcome recent U.S. policy advances that aim to integrate nature into every step of federal decision-making and look forward to testing the new CASE framework.”
The road ahead
The paper concludes that while mainstreaming nature in policy requires initial investments in capacity building and new approaches, the long-term benefits far outweigh the costs. The proposed framework can guide not only the U.S. but also other countries in advancing good governance and thriving communities through nature-positive decisions.
Heather Tallis will continue to partner with UC Santa Cruz Center for Coastal Climate Resilience and use this paper’s recommendations to help advance research and local, state, and national policies on coastal resilience. Endorsed by the State of California with a 2022 founding grant of $20 million, the Center is catalyzing critical research and educational programs in coastal resiliency. More information on the Center’s projects can be found online.
