This report is intended to inform the decision-making practices of governments, businesses, and organizations who are in a position to influence the choice between engineered and nature-based approaches to infrastructure development. Its core focus is to document the benefits of ‘natural infrastructure’ (NI) used to address three specific infrastructure challenges, and compares these benefits, values and costs associated with conventional ‘grey infrastructure’ (GI) development. The preparation of the report began with a comprehensive literature review of pilot studies and project reports on three distinct types of NI, targeted to three infrastructure outcomes:
· Inland and riparian wetlands for flood control;
· Coastal ecosystems for flood/storm surge control; and,
Urban forests for urban heat island control.
