On November 25, an online seminar titled “Climate-Resilient and Nature-Based Stormwater Solutions” (in Estonian) took place in Estonia. The seminar invited architects, builders, and specialists interested in technical solutions.
The seminar was based on the results of several international projects, such as Interreg BSR NOAH, Interreg BSR CityBlues, Interreg CB MUSTBE, LIFE IP BuildEST, and LIFE LATESTadapt, to illustrate the risks and opportunities associated with implementing nature-inspired stormwater solutions. It was organized in cooperation with the Estonian project BuildEST.
The first part of the seminar focused on defining opportunities and needs for implementing sustainable stormwater solutions, considering Nature-Based Solutions (NBS). These can be defined as measures taken to protect, manage, and enhance the resilience of natural and modified ecosystems. They are often presented as universal, multifunctional, and unquestionable risk-reduction measures capable of addressing risks such as flooding, drought, water quality, biodiversity, public well-being, and more. The discussion also covered reasons why society hesitates to adopt NBS and the uncertainties that need to be considered.
Next, attention was given to specific solutions that could be implemented in the Baltic region, along with a risk analysis highlighting the main obstacles that sometimes prevent NBS from succeeding.
In the final part of the seminar, participants were introduced to integrated stormwater solutions that have already been implemented or are currently being implemented in Estonia. A brief overview was provided of each solution’s objectives and the overall process—how the solutions evolved during planning and design. Finally, the seminar presented a new tool developed under the LIFE IP BuildEST project, which helps select suitable NBS for stormwater management on land plots, taking into account current land use and available space for improvements.
Seminar materials are available here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vZOIeFyRuBR5lDLWkKH___OnUuyx603a/view
Listen to the seminar recording here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWchaQrD780
