Scaling the uptake and impact of nature-positive engineering

Policy and regulation

Policy, planning, and regulatory frameworks112 are crucial enablers, and sometimes barriers, to the widespread adoption of nature-positive approaches in infrastructure sectors globally.

The Global Biodiversity Framework113 explicitly integrates NbS – a key suite of solutions that can be implemented through NPE – into climate adaptation and urban development but lacks explicit references to nature positivity or ecological regeneration. Whilst international agreements like the GBF set important goals, they often fail to account for governance capacity, resource limitations, or socio-political dynamics in diverse settings. 

At national levels, promising policies are emerging and they offer a significant opportunity to embed requirements to protect nature while meeting societal needs. Countries are starting to incorporate NbS and ecosystem-based adaptation in their climate policies such as National Adaptation Plans (NAP), a notable example is Uruguay’s Coastal NAP that explicitly incorporates nature-based approaches to flood management. The Brazil Blue Initiative,114 launched by the Government of Brazil with support from international partners such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the United Nations, has the potential to become a policy enabler and coordination mechanism for integrating nature-positive principles into Brazil’s coastal and ocean development. In Europe, policies requiring biodiversity improvements are advancing, including the EU’s Nature Restoration Law115 and the UK’s Biodiversity Net Gain policy and emerging Marine Net Gain concept.

Biodiversity Net Gain and Marine Net Gain in the UK

The UK’s Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)116 policy, formally implemented in England in 2024 under the Environment Act 2021, requires most new developments to deliver a measurable 10% net gain in biodiversity. BNG must be secured for at least 30 years through on-site habitat creation or enhancement, off-site compensation, or the purchase of statutory biodiversity credits as a last resort. Technical guidance on how to implement the BNG policy in a robust and evidence-based way is currently being produced. 

While BNG currently applies only to terrestrial and intertidal habitats in England, the UK government is exploring a parallel concept of Marine Net Gain (MNG)117 for English waters. MNG would aim to improve the state of the marine environment by considering both biodiversity and ecosystem services, but its scope, metrics, and legal mechanisms are still under development.118 Unlike BNG, MNG faces unique challenges such as dynamic and interconnected marine ecosystems, limited baseline data, and unclear property rights at sea.

Though voluntary frameworks have built momentum and established best practices, binding regulations are essential, as incentives remain limited when practices appear to increase costs or complexity. A common challenge across sectors and regions is the fragmentation of regulatory frameworks, and weak and under-resourced enforcement mechanisms. Particularly in marine and coastal environments, jurisdictional complexity and unclear responsibilities between local, national, and international bodies complicate the implementation of NPE. 

Regulations vary widely across national and regional contexts, with inconsistent requirements, permitting processes, and environmental performance standards. This is especially visible in the ports and shipping sector, where infrastructure often spans both terrestrial and marine jurisdictions. Most planning systems and building codes typically favour traditional ‘grey’ infrastructure, with standards and permitting processes unintentionally discouraging NPE solutions due to unfamiliarity or perceived performance uncertainty. Regulatory processes often require evidence of safety and long-term durability, creating obstacles for approaches relying on dynamic living systems.

Emerging trends and opportunities in policy and regulation

Policy maturity varies significantly across marine sectors. In the coastal sector, emerging approaches include integrated shoreline management plans with greater regulatory authority and ICZM (integrated coastal zone management). Momentum is building towards fully costed, locally managed coastal adaptation plans119,120 supported by marine spatial planning and participatory environmental management. However, governance gaps persist where donor requirements, national policy, and community priorities misalign. 

Regulatory fragmentation and the lack of sector-specific incentives remain core barriers in the port sector. While integration of NbS into certification schemes – such as the Green Port Award System (GPAS)121 or EcoPorts122 – shows progress, systemic policy reforms are needed to embed NPE approaches in port development. Emerging policy dialogues are exploring NPE solutions in ports, with growing interest in aligning port development with marine spatial planning and biodiversity objectives. The trajectory is moving towards global frameworks or regional agreements that embed mandatory biodiversity targets into port certification, financing, and permitting processes. The IMO’s environmental regulations, notably those reaffirmed and advanced during the MEPC 83 session,123 play a crucial role in bridging gaps in decarbonisation and biodiversity protection within the maritime sector. 

Regulatory frameworks in the ORE sector tend to be more advanced, although policies often focus on impact mitigation rather than ecosystem restoration. Emerging discussions around Marine Net Gain124 represent a promising opportunity to strengthen biodiversity requirements for ORE projects globally. In the near future, regulatory pathways are likely to shift towards formalising nature-positive requirements beyond just increasing biodiversity, incentivising regenerative design approaches, and embedding ecological monitoring throughout project lifecycles. 

Embedding ecological and engineering expertise in planning and regulatory processes, alongside improved monitoring systems and data transparency, will be essential to ensuring that NPE moves to standard practice globally. Across all sectors, alignment of marine spatial planning policies, tools and blue economy125 frameworks will also shape how nature-positive approaches become operationalised at scale. Procurement and permitting processes also present promising avenues to embed nature-positive requirements into infrastructure development.

Engineers can help overcome policy barriers by highlighting safe and sustainable NPE solutions that are most likely to maximise benefits and balance trade-offs, and by strongly advocating to move away from policies and interventions that are particularly harmful for our planet, such as burning fossil fuels and uncontrolled consumption of natural resources.126,127

Finance 

Halting and reversing biodiversity loss is no longer just an environmental imperative but a critical financial strategy that can unlock tremendous economic potential. Analysis suggests that transitioning to a nature-positive economy could generate $10.1 trillion in business opportunities and create nearly 395 million jobs by 2030.128 Action from all businesses, governments and financiers is needed if we are to realise positive change and avoid losing trillions over the next 15 years due to nature’s decline.129

 The global ocean economy, currently valued at over $2 trillion and having doubled in the last three decades, supports millions of jobs and underpins the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people.130 Yet, in the last decade less than 1% of the total value of the ocean has been invested in sustainable projects, leaving a significant finance gap that threatens long-term economic resilience.131 By closing this gap and prioritising the health of our oceans, we can unlock new business opportunities, create millions of jobs, and secure the essential ecosystem services that support life on Earth.132

Nature-based infrastructure solutions are central to NPE, offering broader and more integrated benefits than traditional infrastructure. These approaches reduce risks from floods, erosion, heat, drought, water scarcity, and landslides – while also restoring biodiversity, supporting tourism and recreation, and contributing to food, water, and climate regulation.133 Despite its proven benefits, nature-based infrastructure is still not fully embedded in mainstream engineering. This is a missed opportunity. Nature-based infrastructure can deliver infrastructure outcomes at a lower cost and generate added value through ecosystem services, carbon credits, sustainable tourism, and increased property values. Integrating these solutions into the core of infrastructure development is essential for scaling NPE and unlocking greater economic returns.

How can finance unlock NPE?

Nature works on a different timeline than our financial world. While investment markets prioritise quarterly returns, nature-positive approaches typically yield their most substantial benefits over decades which creates problems for financing nature positive infrastructure investments. Many financial stakeholders perceive nature-positive projects as cost burdens rather than investments, missing how deeply our economy depends on healthy natural systems.134 For example, financial institutions generally categorise NbS as higher-risk investment propositions, particularly in developing economies with less stable policy environments and more constrained implementation capacities. The lack of clear evidence on long-term performance and the costs of monitoring environmental impacts makes these decisions even harder. 

Compounding this challenge, the financial consequences of not investing in nature, such as ecosystem degradation, disaster vulnerability, and reduced climate resilience, are rarely factored into economic analyses and decision frameworks. As a result, the true value of nature-positive interventions is systematically underestimated. 

To accelerate the uptake of nature-positive solutions, we need to rethink how economic success is defined and measured. This requires integrating natural capital into our assessments of wealth and performance, ensuring that the value of ecosystems is not treated as external to the economy.135 Improved economic evaluation methods are essential to capture the full range of benefits these solutions provide. Their commercial viability also depends on making co-benefits clear and tangible for diverse stakeholders. By aligning nature-positive outcomes with financial interests, such solutions can drive market demand -delivering economic efficiencies, enhancing asset valuations, reducing insurance premiums, and lowering financial risks, while supporting a more resilient and regenerative economy.

Natural Capital Accounting and Nature Valuation 

Natural capital refers to the stock of natural resources that provide essential benefits to people. Recognising and valuing nature helps shift decision-making beyond short-term material gains toward long-term sustainability. 

Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) is a method used to measure and record the value of natural resources and ecosystems in a way that reflects their contribution to the economy and society. In the context of oceans, it aims to quantify the stocks of natural capital (such as seagrass beds, mangroves, and coral reefs) and the flows of ecosystem services (like coastal protection, carbon storage, and fisheries support) they provide. NCA aligns development with environmental sustainability and long-term value creation. The UN’s System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) provides a framework for measuring these assets and services.136 

Building on NCA, Nature Valuation identifies and assigns value to ecosystem services, highlighting nature’s role in economic and policy decisions. Valuation can be monetary (e.g., avoided flood damage) or non-monetary (e.g., health or cultural importance), using methods like market pricing or cost-based approaches.137 For example, the avoided cost of storm damage from healthy mangroves can be quantified, making their value tangible to policymakers and investors.138

NCA and Nature Valuation are crucial for integrating marine ecosystems into policy and finance, but – despite their importance – they face challenges in ocean contexts. A key issue is the lack of comprehensive data,139 while scientific uncertainties limit model reliability. Many ocean ecosystem services, such as cultural or spiritual values, are difficult to quantify and often excluded from monetary valuation. Additionally, valuation methods may overlook local or indigenous perspectives, potentially commodifying nature. Even with available assessments, weak institutional capacity and limited policy integration can prevent their use in decision-making.

Emerging trends and opportunities in finance

Nature finance is gaining momentum through several promising innovations and efforts, though substantial scaling is still needed to close the significant biodiversity funding gap.140 Realising this shift requires updated regulations, improved data and technology,141 and stronger cross-sector collaboration.142

Global consensus143 is building through frameworks like the Global Biodiversity Framework.144 Sector-specific guidance for industries such as offshore wind and ports is helping financial institutions align with biodiversity goals.145,146 

Improved data is also accelerating progress. The Task Force for Nature Disclosure (TFND) framework147 and regulatory initiatives like the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive148 are enhancing how companies report nature-related risks and opportunities. These tools enable more robust risk assessments, addressing a key barrier to scaling nature finance and by extension, scaling nature positive infrastructures.

Innovative financial mechanisms are emerging to reflect nature’s value. Subsidies, credit systems, and biodiversity-linked investment standards are gaining traction. Blended finance models – where public funds take on higher-risk roles – are helping to attract private capital to nature-positive projects. The Blue Economy presents significant opportunities for nature-positive investments.149 For example, energy company Ørsted issued the energy sector’s first €100 million blue bond in 2023, focused on marine restoration and sustainable shipping.150 Market-based tools like carbon and biodiversity credits create new revenue streams.151

Financial institutions have started integrating biodiversity into investment decisions. Leading banks and insurers are already applying these principles, including through circular economy strategies.152 Multilateral development banks have laid important groundwork, recognising the interconnected goals of poverty reduction, climate action, and nature protection. They have developed principles153 for identifying nature-positive investments that deliver measurable benefits without causing harm. However, enforceable standards and consistent requirements across financial institutions remain limited. 

The insurance industry is gradually factoring nature into underwriting and investment to manage nature-related risks and improve resilience. New products are emerging, including nature-based debt instruments and parametric insurance, offering new ways to finance protection and adaptation while linking financial performance to ecological outcomes.154

When projects deliver coastal protection, carbon capture, and biodiversity improvements together, they become more appealing to investors. Multipurpose and multifunctional solutions that address several different needs or goals simultaneously create diverse revenue streams while providing environmental, social, and economic benefits.

The Climate-Smart Shrimp initiative: A multipurpose green-grey-blue solution, Philippines155

Shrimp farming has historically damaged valuable blue carbon ecosystems like mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrasses. In the Philippines, shrimp aquaculture has contributed to the degradation of approximately 200,000 hectares of mangroves, almost 40% of the mangrove population. The Climate-Smart Shrimp initiative by Conservation International tackles this problem by combining responsible shrimp production with ecosystem restoration and regeneration. 

This initiative enhances farm productivity and profitability whilst simultaneously building environmental resilience. By integrating restoration with aquaculture, the project creates multiple value streams that attract diverse investment capital and offer a replicable model for sustainable blue economy development. 

This multipurpose model uses green-grey infrastructure employing wetland treatment systems, restored mangroves, and clean energy infrastructure to deliver both economic returns and ecological improvements. 

The initiative emphasises sustainable practices throughout the production cycle. Farms powered by renewable energy reduce their carbon footprint, supporting the transition to low-carbon food systems within the blue economy. Features like aerators and separate water channels improve production efficiency whilst eliminating polluting diesel pumps.

As the market develops and investor awareness grows, nature-positive finance is set to become a mainstream investment category that significantly contributes to global biodiversity and climate goals. In the future, nature is likely to be recognised as a distinct asset class,156 supported by mature biodiversity and blue carbon credit markets and financial structures that reward nature-positive outcomes across sectors. 

Given the central role of engineering in new infrastructure and retrofits, NPE can help unlock nature finance. Its focus on measurement and evidence aligns well with sustainability-linked finance models, where investment terms depend on environmental performance targets like biodiversity or carbon. NPE’s emphasis on risk management also addresses concerns that nature-positive solutions may carry higher investment risk.

Skills and education 

Traditional engineering education does not adequately include NPE approaches and professionals must acquire new skills to be able to safely implement NPE measures, creating an urgent need for transformation. Lack of clarity on what NPE is, how to embed NPE in engineering workflows and engineering standards, and what they can do to protect, support and collaborate with nature are key challenges that need to be overcome with awareness raising, training and education. 

Technical, behavioural, and cross-sectoral skills and competencies are required to implement NPE. Specific to NPE will be building competencies in environmental assessment, ecological restoration, natural capital accounting and valuation, scenario building, green-grey infrastructure techniques, and climate and nature finance mechanisms in addition to traditional engineering skills. Emerging green skills157 frameworks – currently primarily focussed on decarbonisation and energy transition – could be expanded to include these competencies. 

Engineers are increasingly expected to play a role as communicators, mediators, and leaders in sustainability efforts, including engaging with policymakers and the public, and should therefore be equipped to advocate for NPE approaches and solutions.

Changing current practice

Comprehensive capacity building will be needed to cultivate a new generation of practitioners who embed NPE principles at the heart of their professional identity. 

A clear struggle exists to balance traditional engineering approaches with emerging NPE concepts. However, integrated systems thinking is gaining momentum158 as more professionals recognise the interconnectedness of nature and infrastructure systems. 

Building capacity for interdisciplinary collaboration will be essential to achieving this, bringing engineers into closer collaboration with ecologists, social scientists, and policymakers. Upskilling efforts through continuing professional development (CPD) programmes, online courses, and real-world case studies are emerging as critical tools to bridge knowledge gaps. Professional certifications will also be important in incentivising upskilling and standardising industry knowledge. 

Professional associations and industry bodies will play a key role in the mainstreaming of NPE approaches through sharing best practice, developing CPD courses, and setting standards and guidelines. Communities of practice, such as the Global Green-Gray Community of Practice,159 can champion and disseminate best practices. 

However, the responsibility for upskilling extends beyond engineers to include policymakers, regulators, investors, and the general public who need to understand why nature-positive approaches are crucial, how solutions can be deployed, and how to navigate associated risks, benefits, and trade-offs. Ultimately, engineers are guided by the demands of their clients – making it essential that decision-makers across all sectors are informed and aligned on the value of nature-positive solutions. For example, the revised EFRAG biodiversity standard (ESRS E4)160 sends a strong market signal that clients will increasingly expect engineers to integrate nature-positive solutions into infrastructure design and delivery, as biodiversity outcomes become embedded in investment and reporting requirements.

New toolkits for the climate-nature-health nexus will be needed to equip engineers and other key decision-makers on how to manage the complex interconnections between natural and built systems.161 Greater integration needs to emerge between different stakeholder groups, including government, academia, business, environmental organisations, and community groups. This integration can be supported by a common vocabulary and interdisciplinary platforms that facilitate knowledge sharing and collaborative decision-making, breaking down the traditional silos that have hindered effective implementation of NPE approaches.

Finally, NPE can attract environmentally conscious young people into the engineering profession and support retention. Organisations such as the Marine Technology Society (MTS)162 are helping to meet this demand by fostering knowledge exchange, technical training, and early-career engagement in sustainable marine technologies, through technical symposia, active student sections, and certification opportunities. By emphasising NPE approaches and partnering with such networks, engineering can position itself as a field that offers meaningful work aligned with younger generations’ values and aspirations to contribute to planetary wellbeing. 

Transforming engineering education

Current academic curricula tend to prioritise technical content, often neglecting environmental, economic, and social dimensions as well as the cross-disciplinary skills essential for NPE. 

Ecological engineering, a discipline closely aligned with NPE principles, has a long history but remains underdeveloped academically, with curricula varying widely across institutions. There is a clear opportunity to establish a standardised global curriculum that integrates ecology, environmental management, engineering design, and sustainability science.163 Transition Engineering164 is an example of an emerging approach that incorporates long-term sustainability considerations into engineering education and practice. It focuses on managing changes in systems, technologies, and infrastructure in response to sustainability challenges.

Alongside reforming ecological engineering education, there is a pressing need to update curricula for all engineering disciplines. This could include, as a starting point, integrating ecology fundamentals into engineering degrees and providing opportunities for engineers to gain exposure to ecological concepts, while also imparting some engineering knowledge to ecologists. Systems thinking, anticipatory planning, and strategic foresight are increasingly seen as core components of engineering education.165 Rather than treating sustainability as an add-on, these skills should be woven into the fabric of engineering education. Encouragingly, accreditation bodies have started embedding multidisciplinary competencies into engineering education programmes (e.g., ABET, UK Engineering Council) signalling a shift towards more holistic, sustainability-focused curricula.166

A gap still persists between academic training and industry expectations, alongside difficulties in effectively assessing sustainability competencies.167 In response to this gap, experiential learning approaches, including hackathons, work placements and project work, are gaining traction. Integrating NPE principles in engineering curricula would help better prepare engineering students for the future job market. This could be done, as a first step, through the development of an industry-led knowledge module. Academia will be a pivotal lever in accelerating the uptake of NPE for future engineers; schools and universities should be encouraged to adopt curricula that reflect this opportunity. 

Importantly, nature, climate and STEM education at a school level is also crucial to prepare young people for roles in NPE and apply a nature-positive lens from the start of their technical training.

Guidance and standards for NPE

There is an urgent need to embed NPE approaches into mainstream standards and guidelines to accelerate their safe and effective adoption. 

Learning from implementation plays a crucial role in building the evidence base needed to inform standards. Pilot projects provide vital opportunities to develop evidence on long-term safety implications, including potential unintended consequences for ecosystems and communities. However, these require extended monitoring before they can effectively inform technical design standards. While we cannot halt progress waiting for standards to catch up, we must accelerate learning from existing projects in order to accelerate development of standards and technical guidance.

Building on the foundations of ‘good engineering’

NPE doesn’t require developing an entirely new engineering discipline. We can make significant progress by drawing from established, forward-thinking approaches such as Engineering With Nature, Building with Nature, circular economy principles, and climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. 

A lot of good guidance, case study compendia168 and virtual resource libraries169 exist, such as the ‘Guide for Applying Working with Nature to Navigation Infrastructure Projects’,170 the ‘Playbook on Nature-positive Infrastructure Development’,171 and the International Guidelines on Natural and Nature-Based Features for Flood Risk Management172 – see more examples below.

The Rich North Sea Toolbox173

The Rich North Sea Toolbox is a digital platform designed to support nature enhancement in offshore wind farms. Developed by The Rich North Sea programme – a collaboration between the North Sea Foundation and Natuur & Milieu – the Toolbox serves as a comprehensive resource for integrating biodiversity considerations into offshore energy projects. It combines scientific knowledge and practical experience to guide users in implementing nature-inclusive designs and restoration efforts. 

Users can explore a variety of nature enhancement techniques, such as eco-friendly scour protection, tailored to specific marine species and habitats. The platform features an interactive map showcasing real-world projects across the North Sea, offering insights into successful applications of these methods. Additionally, the Toolbox provides practical information on regulatory requirements, permitting processes, and supplier contacts, facilitating the initiation and execution of nature-positive initiatives.

Toolkit for Sustainable Port Development in a Blue Economy174 

Released in June 2023 by the Nairobi Convention Secretariat and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), this toolkit offers a strategic framework for promoting sustainable port development in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region. 

Building upon the ‘Green Ports’ concept, the toolkit uses an Integrated Port Management (IPM) framework comprising four key phases: planning, design, construction, and operations to introduce a more comprehensive approach that integrates social sustainability considerations. It provides practical guidance on incorporating environmental impact assessments, circular economy principles, waste management, effective ballast water management and more, into port planning and operations. The toolkit also emphasises the importance of stakeholder engagement and policy integration to ensure that sustainable practices are embedded at all stages of port development. 

This is a valuable resource for policymakers, port authorities, and developers. Although specifically developed for the WIO region, learnings and recommendations can be transferred to other contexts and geographies.

Guyana Mangrove-Seawall Engineering Guidance175

The Guyana Mangrove-Seawall Engineering guidance from Deltares and Conservation International supports the implementation of green-grey coastal infrastructure through the establishment of design standards that integrated mangrove restoration with engineered solutions like seawalls. 

This is one of the few current examples of technical specifications and practical methodologies for designing combined mangrove-seawall structures. The guidelines emphasise site-specific adaptations, accounting for the local wave climate, sediment flow, and ecological conditions, which are critical for ensuring the effectiveness and sustainability of green-grey solutions. The design process outlined in the guide incorporates stakeholder engagement and multi-sectoral collaboration. The guidelines also establish protocols for evaluating the performance of green-grey infrastructure over time, allowing for iterative improvements and scaling up of successful strategies.

Evolving guidance and standards 

Engineers currently lack structured tools to help incorporate nature into engineering design processes or to identify entry points within existing policies and decision-making frameworks. 

NPE requires deeper integration of ecological principles in engineering guidelines, yet ecologists and engineers often operate in separate professional spheres, using different languages, priorities, and methodologies. This communication gap is not effectively addressed by current technical guidelines.176 At the same time, environmental professionals must better understand the practical constraints of engineering to co-develop scalable, workable solutions. 

Most existing standards continue to default to traditional ‘grey’ infrastructure approaches, often favouring concrete-heavy solutions that overlook ecological considerations. This is especially true in sectors where engineered reliability is prioritised to safeguard communities and critical infrastructure. Although there is growing interest in green-grey approaches, where well-designed grey components can offer enhanced reliability under future climate conditions, comprehensive technical frameworks to support their design and implementation remain underdeveloped.177 

A key limitation of current guidance is its tendency to address complex issues in isolation. In reality, challenges like biodiversity loss, water and food security, and climate change are deeply interconnected. When technical standards fail to reflect these systems-level relationships, solutions risk addressing one problem while exacerbating others. In addition, equity and justice considerations are often insufficiently incorporated into existing frameworks, despite their importance in shaping sustainable and inclusive outcomes.

To advance NPE, the profession needs to develop comprehensive, cross-disciplinary guidance and standards informed by evidence from both practice and research. Building on what already exists and working with other disciplines, engineers can implement the following practical actions immediately: 

• Establish lifecycle-based frameworks that identify clear entry points for NPE approaches and solutions within engineering decision-making processes and existing policy structures.178
• Create complementary guidance for planning, designing, implementing, monitoring and maintaining NPE solutions. Examples include: engineering manuals of practice for nature-based infrastructure solutions, guidance on integrating natural capital assessment and ecosystem valuation into infrastructure development, and adaptation of carbon management frameworks into nature management frameworks specifically for engineers. 
• Develop standardised methods to assess future risks and trade-offs, particularly regarding the climate-nature-health nexus. This requires sustained dialogue between industry, regulators and environmental experts to create guidance that effectively balances innovation with safety considerations

The role of research and innovation 

Advancing NPE requires dedicated research and innovation that builds the evidence base while developing practical solutions to inform engineering practice. 

Pilot projects form a strong foundation for empirical research. Long-term studies tracking the performance of pilots across sectors are essential for understanding how nature-positive solutions evolve over time and under changing climate conditions. Many promising pilots remain isolated experiments, with their valuable lessons failing to influence mainstream practice or policy frameworks. For NPE to achieve transformative impact, we must move beyond isolated demonstrations to systematic knowledge transfer.179 

Local context remains critically important for successful interventions. Solutions must be adapted to specific ecosystems and communities, ensuring that Indigenous knowledge is integrated to enhance contextual understanding and solution development.180

Research and innovation will be key to the successful scaling and implementation of NPE in the long-term. Collaborative research initiatives that bring together diverse stakeholders – like the Collaboration for Environmental Mitigation & Nature Inclusive Design (CEMNID) Project – can help generate robust evidence and innovative approaches.181

 Emerging innovations offer promising examples of solutions that are already supporting nature-based approaches to infrastructure, including seaweed binders, oyster-shell aggregates and other marine biobased materials,182 and bacteria-based techniques to clean sediment contamination during port expansion or maintenance dredging, avoiding costly and risky excavation of hazardous materials.183 Academic and investor support will be critical to ensure these kinds of solutions can continue to develop and scale.

Other areas that would benefit from further research include: 

• the impact of infrastructure and other anthropogenic interventions on ocean health 
• the use of technology to support marine spatial planning 
• near real-time, open data sharing platforms to enhance ocean modelling accuracy 
• the systematic measurement and monitoring of nature-positive approaches, and 
• the climate-nature-health nexus effects

NPE innovation should also align with broader ocean science goals such as those in the UNESCO Ocean Decade. The emphasis must be on generating science that directly informs standards, best practices, and policies – creating a virtuous cycle where research fuels implementation, and implementation experience informs future research priorities. When science, policy, industry and communities come together and co-design processes, this ensures that research outputs are actionable and regulatory gaps are addressed effectively. Open innovation platforms and hackathons, such as those conducted by Ocean Twin,184 foster collaborative problem-solving across disciplines.

The global ‘Nature Positive’ movement is gaining momentum, uniting diverse sectors under a shared mission to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. Advocacy and partnerships play crucial roles in this transformation – bridging scientific knowledge, engineering practice, policy influence, and grassroots action. 

The scale and urgency of the challenge require an inclusive and coordinated response. Several global initiatives across the private sector, civil society and academia demonstrate the power of partnerships in driving nature-positive outcomes.

• BES-Net (Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Network)185 is a capacity-sharing initiative managed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) that helps bridge the science-policy-practice interface on biodiversity and ecosystem services. 
• The Nature Positive Initiative (NPI)186 is a global coalition launched in 2023 to drive alignment, clarity, and accountability around the Nature Positive global goal, i.e. halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030 and restoring nature by 2050. 
• Nature Positive Universities187 engages academia in promoting nature on campuses, in supply chains and within cities and communities. 
• Business for Nature188 unites businesses and NGOs to influence policies that support nature restoration. 
• The Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction (PEDRR)189 promotes NbS for disaster risk reduction and climate resilience in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. 
• Nature4Climate190 is a coalition that champions NbS for climate mitigation and adaptation.

The voice and contribution of engineers have largely been missing from the global debate on nature-positive approaches and from important convenings such as Biodiversity COP. Given their importance in shaping the infrastructure of the future, it is crucial that engineers are involved in this global movement if we are to achieve a nature-positive world. Engineers, with their credibility and technical expertise, must become key advocates in this shift, drawing decision makers’ attention to what works, what should be avoided, and what to prioritise. 

A window of opportunity now exists to establish an alliance of engineering actors to scale up NPE through targeted capacity building, coordinated advocacy, and the formation of global communities of practice. This will create a space for stakeholders across the global engineering community to come together to champion NPE and its safe implementation at scale.