With catastrophes ranging from the recent wildfires in Los Angeles, to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and extreme waves in Central California all serving as the backdrop, a diverse group of scientists, engineers, and advocates for nature-based solutions gathered at the National Academy of Sciences last month to discuss how our ecosystems can protect us from natural disasters.
The National Practice Forum on Nature-Based Solutions was held in Irvine on February 4 and 5, and sponsored by UC Santa Cruz’s Center for Coastal Climate Resilience (CCCR). The forum drew over 500 attendees from around the country—attending virtually and in person.
Recent catastrophes served as a stark reminder of what was at stake. Also on February 4, UCLA’s Anderson School of Management reported that total property and capital losses from the L.A. wildfires could range between $95 billion and $164 billion. Another top-line finding was a 0.48% decline in county-level GDP for 2025, amounting to approximately $4.6 billion.
“Climate change is here now and we are spending billions on it,” CCCR Director Mike Beck said at the forum. “Most of those funds are destined toward gray infrastructure that will further degrade nature, but we can show that nature-based solutions are cost-effective for adaptation."
These solutions are intended to protect people and property from natural disasters, which are increasing in frequency and intensity due to extreme weather, sea-level rise, and other effects from an out-of-balance climate. One part of CCCR’s work has focused on using wetlands and reefs to blunt the force of waves and storm surges that hammer coastlines.
Shoring up solidarity
UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Cynthia Larive joined Beck in helping kick off the forum, which drew participants from state and federal agencies, indigenous and community organizations, industry and trade groups, as well as universities across the country.
Organizers said the event delivered on its four objectives: to showcase large-scale implementation of nature-based solutions and lessons learned; promote equity and justice in hazard mitigation and adaptation projects; identify challenges and opportunities to meet objectives for risk reduction and conservation; and finally, to strengthen partnerships to accelerate the pace and scale of implementation.
With flooding being the single most expensive type of disaster in the United States, it was the target of most of the solutions presented, which ranged from constructing sand dunes to planting trees along rivers. The conference centered on implementing these projects on the ground, building on a similar forum hosted by the National Academy of Sciences last year that focused on policy.
Engaging communities
Two issues that featured prominently in this year’s forum were equity and scaling the size of nature-based projects. The event sought to advance discussions around both via a combination of panels, poster presentation and five-minute “lightning talks” by more than 40 speakers from diverse backgrounds.
One panel featured MariaElena De La Garza, executive director of the Santa Cruz County Community Action Board. Garza works with Pajaro Valley residents in and around Watsonville who are still dealing with destruction caused by a catastrophic levee breach and flooding nearly two years ago.
Nature-based solutions have to be people-centered to be effective, she told attendees. The best way to ensure solutions put people first, De La Garza said, is to find and invest in trusted messengers within the community who are directly in touch with neighbors and their needs.
Beck said Garza’s comments were worth their weight in gold: “The panel with MariaElena might be among the best panels I've ever seen—and I've seen quite a few of them,” he said.
Regional scaling
Another ongoing challenge is implementing nature-based solutions over large geographic areas. “Twenty years ago, oyster reef restoration projects were the size of this stage,” Beck said in his address. “Now they are miles long.” In wetlands, marshes and mangroves, some projects have reached tens of thousands of hectares in size, he added.
“But habitats like coral reefs are really at the beginning stages,” Beck said. “There are lots of community organizations doing this work and trying to figure out how to make it better.” He hopes that forums like this one will help people exchange ideas on what remains to be done to restore coral reefs on a large scale.
Undeterred by uncertainty
As is the case across the scientific research community, uncertainty over federal executive actions and over the future of federal funding loomed over the forum. But overall, Beck said he was pleasantly surprised by the number of people who participated in person and online. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which convened the past two forums on nature-based solutions, has already voted to host another one next year.
“California needs to continue to be a strong leader on issues that the federal government is indicating that they may back down from,” Beck said, “whether it's climate, diversity, or work with tribes.”
