Achieving Sustainable Outcomes Using Engineering with Nature Principles and Practices

Much has changed over the past 2 decades in the way government agencies around the world think about planning, design, and construction of infrastructure projects. Population growth, economic development, climate change, sea‐level rise, and the changing character of natural disasters have introduced enormous pressures and expectations for government‐funded projects aimed at providing water and transportation services, restoring communities after natural disasters, and building long‐term resiliency. The United Nation (UN)'s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by all UN Member States in 2015, have emerged as a vital part of public and private sector efforts to manage the tremendous pressures on nature posed by increasing human demands for food, land, and water resources and security (UN 2019). Now more than ever is the time for a concerted global focus on nature‐based solutions (NBS). There is ample and growing evidence for how NBS strategies produce a range of beneficial economic, environmental, and social outcomes while ameliorating the human‐induced stresses imposed on the natural environment (Oen 2019). In the United States, the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has recognized the importance of designing and constructing infrastructure projects that work with nature, and in 2010 the USACE launched the Engineering With Nature (EWN) initiative. Its focus at inception was to advance sustainable and resilient projects and outcomes by the intentional alignment of engineering and natural processes to efficiently and sustainably deliver economic, environmental, and social benefits to communities and the nation. Over the past 10 years, the USACE has advanced its ability to deliver water resources and infrastructure projects that are broadly accepted by communities, reduce demands on limited natural resources, and minimize environmental impacts, while generating a diverse array of economic, environmental, and social benefits. Since 2010, the USACE's vision has been widely successful in building upon examples of best practice from past decades in the United States. In doing so, the EWN initiative has highlighted the power of broad collaboration across government, private sector, academic, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to deliver such multifunctional projects. The USACE has taken this approach internationally, as well, and has begun working with partner organizations in several countries. Success through the EWN approach is achieved by adhering to 4 principles. Project planning and design should focus the use of science and engineering to produce operational efficiencies that support sustainable delivery of project benefits. Project designs should rely on natural processes to produce benefits, to include reducing demands on limited resources, minimizing negative impacts, and creating new environmental benefits. Projects should be planned and designed to diversify the benefits produced by projects to include an expanded spectrum of economic, social, and environmental benefits. Finally, a serious investment and commitment to collaboration across sectors and organizations should be used to organize and focus special interests, stakeholders, and partners to produce more broadly acceptable and productive projects, while reducing social friction, resistance, and delays. The USACE's EWN initiative is advancing practical implementation of these 4 principles through a network of field‐scale projects, demonstrations, research and development (R&D), guidance development, education, communication, and partnering. Research and development at USACE is focused on advancing the understanding and application of NBS. One