The NAIAD project (NAture Insurance value: Assessment and Demonstration) focused on operationalizing the assurance value of ecosystems—their ability to help prevent and mitigate water-related risks like floods and droughts, while also generating valuable co-benefits (e.g., biodiversity, health, recreation).
The central concept developed by NAIAD is the “natural assurance scheme” (NAS), which incorporates the risk reduction and prevention value of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) into insurance and investment schemes.
🎯 Main Objectives (Conceptual Frame)
NAIAD’s approach was structured around three pillars:
- Building Resilience: To foster a resilience approach to risk management using Nature-Based Solutions (NBS).
- Operationalization: To operationalize and test methods for valuing NBS in nine demonstration (DEMO) sites across Europe.
- Uptake Facilitation: To facilitate the uptake of cost-effective NBS that provide environmental, social, and economic benefits.
🗓️ Main Results and Work Performed (2018-06-01 to 2020-08-31)
1. Assessment and Evidence Generation
- Biophysical Assessment: Completed at the nine DEMO sites to provide evidence of the role of NBS in managing water risks and to characterize the biophysical hazards present.
- Ecosystem Services Assessment: Assessed the ecosystem services delivered using various tools and risk modeling approaches
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- Socio-economic Assessment: Developed a standardized method for economic, life cycle, damage costs, and co-benefits assessments. Principles for evaluating the cost of NBS implementation were presented.
2. Stakeholder Engagement and Tools
- Risk Perception: Developed a framework to assess the risk perception and risk management behavior of different actors, exploring the underlying social drivers and testing crowdsourcing systems to involve local stakeholders (e.g., Ambiguity analysis, trade-off assessment).
- Knowledge Integration: Developed tools to enhance decision-making and policy-planning by integrating scientific and societal knowledge, including a multi-criteria decision-making toolkit, participatory modeling, and an integrative modeling approach.
3. Business and Policy Uptake
- Business Models: Developed innovative business models to successfully deliver value from NBS.
- Financial Instruments: Developed methods to understand the different funding and finance options necessary for the operationalization of NAS.
📈 Progress Beyond the State of the Art and Impact
NAIAD provided new insights and evidence, moving beyond the traditional view of risk management:
- Positive Assurance Value: NAIAD demonstrated that NBS are an important part of the risk reduction portfolio, increasing system resilience and providing co-benefits. The evidence shows that NAS can better prepare and avoid potential costs from water risks.
- NBS as a Component, Not a “Silver Bullet”: The project highlighted that while effective, NBS are not always the sole solution, and the best option may sometimes be a combination of NBS with traditional (grey) solutions.
- Specific Effectiveness: Simulations indicated that NBS are particularly well-suited to frequent events rather than the most extreme ones, and display their highest assurance value at the prevention stage against water risks.
- Policy Mobilization: The ability to evaluate NBS and NAS will facilitate their incorporation into River Basin Management and risk planning, helping to mobilize resources for financing by shifting the focus toward prevention in the adaptive management cycle.
- Addressing Barriers: The project identified that the different risk perceptions and ambiguity among stakeholders are critical barriers, but also latent opportunities for collective action and uptake of NBS.
NAIAD’s Six-Step NAS Cookbook
The project produced a transferable methodology for others to follow:
- UNDERSTAND the underlying conceptual frame of natural assurance.
- CHOOSE the NAS tools, methods, and co-design processes that suit specific needs.
- TEST their applications in a demonstration site.
- DEVELOP the business models and financing schemes necessary for adoption.
- IMPLEMENT the NAS, ensuring MONITORING and EVALUATION of avoided damages and co-benefits.
- SHARE the experience for transferability across Europe and beyond.
