Building with Nature (2021)
Summary of the lectures, tutorials, and study materials
Definitions Building with Nature
Building with Nature (BwN) is the approach to creating, implementing and upscaling Nature-based
solutions for water-related infrastructure. “The Building with Nature approach starts with
understanding how the natural and societal systems function, using natural materials, forces and
interactions while creating opportunities for nature to develop”.
The concepts of BwN are as follow are aimed at developing infrastructure in deltas and estuaries, along
coasts and rivers:
- In harmony with the behaviour of the natural system
- By letting nature do part of the work
- In close collaboration with stakeholders and local communities
- With added value for nature, (local) economy, and society
Building with Nature is a Dutch water management approach that aims to utilise natural dynamics
(e.g., wind and currents) and natural materials (e.g., sediment and vegetation) for the realisation of
effective flood defences, while providing opportunities for nature development.
Building with Nature is nature-driven design.
Building with Nature is related to the sand engine an approach that aims to reduce the disturbance of
local ecosystems. It is an alternative to “hard” engineering (dams, reinforcement and acceptance of
beach erosion) and defending the coast by recurring small-scale nourishment. But it also has a multi-
functionality: integration of ecology, recreation, land use and other aspects. (A multi-disciplinary
approach, not just coastal engineering).
Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are defined by IUCN as actions to protect, sustainably manage, and
restore natural or modified ecosystems, that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively,
simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits
Building with Nature Applied
A paradigm shift: from “building in”, via “building of” to “building with nature”. We shift from
minimising negative environmental impacts, via neutrality by compensation, to optimising on a
positive balance. This leads to the generic strategic objective for Building with Nature projects, in which
two objectives are combined: “To deliver engineering services while delivering and/or utilising
ecosystem services.”
All Building with Nature projects have four primary characteristics in common: they are inherently
dynamic, multifunctional, context-specific, and innovative.
Analysis of practical cases has revealed that five steps are invariably taken when developing Building
with Nature Designs. The steps together outline a basic creative process that can be followed in any
phase of the project realisation process. The five steps comprise of:
1. Understand the system
2. Identify alternative solutions
3. Evaluate alternatives and select preferred solution
4. Further refine the selected solution
5. Prepare the solution for the next phase
Building with Nature Design requires not only a redefinition of what to do and what to aim for, but also of
how to do it: a change in thinking, acting, and interacting.
Page 1 of 21
,Building with Nature (2021)
Summary of the lectures, tutorials, and study materials
It is important to note that BwN projects do not end by completion of the engineering works, since at
that point nature, ecosystem services and sometimes also economic functions only start evolving.
Building with nature is also building with society: building with nature projects usually affect the
interests of many stakeholders and have a high visibility to the public at large.
Key threats of BwN projects are that they are difficult to implement due to need to involve and
cooperate with a wide variety of actors, i.e., complex multi-actor context. And no one knows exactly
whether and how it works at new locations, i.e., many uncertainties.
Landscapes and Concepts of Building with Nature
The six landscapes treated by EcoShape are Sandy Coasts, Muddy Coasts, Lowland Lakes, Rivers and
Estuaries, Cities and Ports. Different concepts are applicable in different landscapes.
Concepts for sandy coasts: Concepts for muddy coasts:
- Landscaping of seabed - Growing salt marshes
- Applying mega nourishments - Strategically placing fine sediment
- Constructing nature islands - Resorting seagrass meadows
- Restoring seagrass meadows - Developing double-levee systems
- Facilitating coral development - Restoring tidal dynamics
- Developing double-leave systems - Clay ripening and consolidation
- Constructing perched beaches - Rehabilitating mangrove belts
- Enchasing dune dynamics - Managing coastal retreat/realignment
Concepts for lowland lakes: Concepts for rivers and estuaries:
- Integrating vegetated foreshores - Clay ripening and consolidation
- Constructing perched beaches - Restoring connections
- Creating sedimentation basins - Integrating vegetated foreshores
- Constructing nature islands - Strategically placing fine sediment
- Creating rich revetments - Constructing nature islands
- Developing inland buffer zones - Managing coastal retreat/realignment
- Developing wetland areas - Constructing secondary channels
- Establishing wetland forests - Establishing wetland forests
Concepts for cities: Concepts for ports:
- Integrating vegetated foreshores - Growing salt marshes
- Restoring connections - Strategically placing fine sediment
- Developing inland buffer zones - Optimising flow patterns
- Building shellfish reefs - Creating rich revetments
- Creating hanging and floating structures - Creating sedimentation basins
- Creating tidal parks - Building shellfish reefs
- Developing wetland areas - Restoring salinity gradients
- Creating rich revetments - Creating hanging and floating structures
A distinction can be made between an estuary
and a delta.
Estuary is an area were salt water of sea mixes
with fresh water of rivers. An Estuary is formed
by a tidal bore, which ablates the riverbed and
carries the silt out to sea.
Page 2 of 21
, Building with Nature (2021)
Summary of the lectures, tutorials, and study materials
Delta is a low triangular area of alluvial deposits where a river divides before entering a larger body of
water. A delta is formed when rivers drain its water into sea or any other watercourse along with
sediment at the mouth of the river. If these sediments cannot carry away by the waves and tides. It
builds up in layers forming a delta.
Coastal Eco Defences
Coastal wetlands include saltmarshes and mangroves. Coastal wetlands ecosystems services
ecologically important habitats, providing food/wood, mitigating water quality & carbon
sequestration, and coastal protection & stabilisation. Carbon sequestration in trees and sediment.
Disadvantages of wetlands are that they facilitate mosquito breeding and disease transmission,
especially in subtropic or tropical areas. Socio-economic factors must also be considered and may
partly explain why ecosystem-based defence on a large scale has only been implemented in Europe
and the United States and on a much smaller scale in Asia.
Do you think coastal wetland ecosystems sequester less or
more carbon than terrestrial forests?
a. Less
b. Same
c. More
Sediment trapping in vegetation, there is an increasing
elevation of the vegetated platform and a seaward
expansion of vegetation. Local short-term processes are:
Local short-term processes are: Long-term processes are relative to sea level rise:
(+) Sedimentation (+) Subsidence
(+) Leaf litter accumulation (+) Sea level rise
(+) Root growth (+/-) Isostatic adjustments
(+) Benthic production
(-) Erosion
(-) Root decomposition
(-) Compaction
When do coastal wetlands expand? If relative sea level rise (SLR)
a. < surface elevation change
b. = surface elevation change
c. > surface elevation change
So, sea level rise needs to be smaller than surface elevation change.
In that case the ecosystem will expand. A degradation will take place
when sea level rise is higher than the surface elevation change.
Page 3 of 21
Summary of the lectures, tutorials, and study materials
Definitions Building with Nature
Building with Nature (BwN) is the approach to creating, implementing and upscaling Nature-based
solutions for water-related infrastructure. “The Building with Nature approach starts with
understanding how the natural and societal systems function, using natural materials, forces and
interactions while creating opportunities for nature to develop”.
The concepts of BwN are as follow are aimed at developing infrastructure in deltas and estuaries, along
coasts and rivers:
- In harmony with the behaviour of the natural system
- By letting nature do part of the work
- In close collaboration with stakeholders and local communities
- With added value for nature, (local) economy, and society
Building with Nature is a Dutch water management approach that aims to utilise natural dynamics
(e.g., wind and currents) and natural materials (e.g., sediment and vegetation) for the realisation of
effective flood defences, while providing opportunities for nature development.
Building with Nature is nature-driven design.
Building with Nature is related to the sand engine an approach that aims to reduce the disturbance of
local ecosystems. It is an alternative to “hard” engineering (dams, reinforcement and acceptance of
beach erosion) and defending the coast by recurring small-scale nourishment. But it also has a multi-
functionality: integration of ecology, recreation, land use and other aspects. (A multi-disciplinary
approach, not just coastal engineering).
Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are defined by IUCN as actions to protect, sustainably manage, and
restore natural or modified ecosystems, that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively,
simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits
Building with Nature Applied
A paradigm shift: from “building in”, via “building of” to “building with nature”. We shift from
minimising negative environmental impacts, via neutrality by compensation, to optimising on a
positive balance. This leads to the generic strategic objective for Building with Nature projects, in which
two objectives are combined: “To deliver engineering services while delivering and/or utilising
ecosystem services.”
All Building with Nature projects have four primary characteristics in common: they are inherently
dynamic, multifunctional, context-specific, and innovative.
Analysis of practical cases has revealed that five steps are invariably taken when developing Building
with Nature Designs. The steps together outline a basic creative process that can be followed in any
phase of the project realisation process. The five steps comprise of:
1. Understand the system
2. Identify alternative solutions
3. Evaluate alternatives and select preferred solution
4. Further refine the selected solution
5. Prepare the solution for the next phase
Building with Nature Design requires not only a redefinition of what to do and what to aim for, but also of
how to do it: a change in thinking, acting, and interacting.
Page 1 of 21
,Building with Nature (2021)
Summary of the lectures, tutorials, and study materials
It is important to note that BwN projects do not end by completion of the engineering works, since at
that point nature, ecosystem services and sometimes also economic functions only start evolving.
Building with nature is also building with society: building with nature projects usually affect the
interests of many stakeholders and have a high visibility to the public at large.
Key threats of BwN projects are that they are difficult to implement due to need to involve and
cooperate with a wide variety of actors, i.e., complex multi-actor context. And no one knows exactly
whether and how it works at new locations, i.e., many uncertainties.
Landscapes and Concepts of Building with Nature
The six landscapes treated by EcoShape are Sandy Coasts, Muddy Coasts, Lowland Lakes, Rivers and
Estuaries, Cities and Ports. Different concepts are applicable in different landscapes.
Concepts for sandy coasts: Concepts for muddy coasts:
- Landscaping of seabed - Growing salt marshes
- Applying mega nourishments - Strategically placing fine sediment
- Constructing nature islands - Resorting seagrass meadows
- Restoring seagrass meadows - Developing double-levee systems
- Facilitating coral development - Restoring tidal dynamics
- Developing double-leave systems - Clay ripening and consolidation
- Constructing perched beaches - Rehabilitating mangrove belts
- Enchasing dune dynamics - Managing coastal retreat/realignment
Concepts for lowland lakes: Concepts for rivers and estuaries:
- Integrating vegetated foreshores - Clay ripening and consolidation
- Constructing perched beaches - Restoring connections
- Creating sedimentation basins - Integrating vegetated foreshores
- Constructing nature islands - Strategically placing fine sediment
- Creating rich revetments - Constructing nature islands
- Developing inland buffer zones - Managing coastal retreat/realignment
- Developing wetland areas - Constructing secondary channels
- Establishing wetland forests - Establishing wetland forests
Concepts for cities: Concepts for ports:
- Integrating vegetated foreshores - Growing salt marshes
- Restoring connections - Strategically placing fine sediment
- Developing inland buffer zones - Optimising flow patterns
- Building shellfish reefs - Creating rich revetments
- Creating hanging and floating structures - Creating sedimentation basins
- Creating tidal parks - Building shellfish reefs
- Developing wetland areas - Restoring salinity gradients
- Creating rich revetments - Creating hanging and floating structures
A distinction can be made between an estuary
and a delta.
Estuary is an area were salt water of sea mixes
with fresh water of rivers. An Estuary is formed
by a tidal bore, which ablates the riverbed and
carries the silt out to sea.
Page 2 of 21
, Building with Nature (2021)
Summary of the lectures, tutorials, and study materials
Delta is a low triangular area of alluvial deposits where a river divides before entering a larger body of
water. A delta is formed when rivers drain its water into sea or any other watercourse along with
sediment at the mouth of the river. If these sediments cannot carry away by the waves and tides. It
builds up in layers forming a delta.
Coastal Eco Defences
Coastal wetlands include saltmarshes and mangroves. Coastal wetlands ecosystems services
ecologically important habitats, providing food/wood, mitigating water quality & carbon
sequestration, and coastal protection & stabilisation. Carbon sequestration in trees and sediment.
Disadvantages of wetlands are that they facilitate mosquito breeding and disease transmission,
especially in subtropic or tropical areas. Socio-economic factors must also be considered and may
partly explain why ecosystem-based defence on a large scale has only been implemented in Europe
and the United States and on a much smaller scale in Asia.
Do you think coastal wetland ecosystems sequester less or
more carbon than terrestrial forests?
a. Less
b. Same
c. More
Sediment trapping in vegetation, there is an increasing
elevation of the vegetated platform and a seaward
expansion of vegetation. Local short-term processes are:
Local short-term processes are: Long-term processes are relative to sea level rise:
(+) Sedimentation (+) Subsidence
(+) Leaf litter accumulation (+) Sea level rise
(+) Root growth (+/-) Isostatic adjustments
(+) Benthic production
(-) Erosion
(-) Root decomposition
(-) Compaction
When do coastal wetlands expand? If relative sea level rise (SLR)
a. < surface elevation change
b. = surface elevation change
c. > surface elevation change
So, sea level rise needs to be smaller than surface elevation change.
In that case the ecosystem will expand. A degradation will take place
when sea level rise is higher than the surface elevation change.
Page 3 of 21
