Ecosystem-based ways to reduce the impacts from disasters and climate change include: green and blue infrastructure, forest restoration, wetland restoration, climate smart agriculture/agroforestry and urban greening. These can be combined with early warning systems or grey infrastructure such as sea walls, if not harmful to the environment.

Fundamentals of NbS in Coastal Engineering
There are two main considerations, that determine the applicability of nature-based solutions in coastal engineering.

The first considerations, that need to be taken into account, is the suitability of the considered NbS regarding the hydrodynamic forces and loads. Species and ecosystems in their establishment and existence are limited by a certain maximum hydrodynamic load they can resist. That means, that for the nature-based solutions species and ecosystems should be selected based on their tolerance to hydrodynamic loads. For example, coral reefs and beach systems can resist higher energy level than marshes or mangroves. In cases where hydrodynamic loads create unfavourable conditions for species to survive hard structures or nourishments may be needed. Another related issue, are their habitat requirements. Some species are typically “aquatic”, temporarily aquatic or terrestrial living species. 

The second issue, that must be considered, is the availability for the spatial requirements being needed to obtain the necessary safety level. (Schoones et. al 2019)

References