National Wildlife Federation

01/14/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 01/14/2025 10:04

Helping Communities Reduce Risk from Natural Disasters by Investing in Nature

With extreme weather on the rise, communities across the country are turning to 'nature-based solutions' such as restoring floodplains, planting trees, and creating natural areas that store stormwater to reduce risk and improve quality of life.

Implementing nature-based solutions is largely up to each local community-but many planners are stretched thin and lack the resources to navigate the complex world of federal funding. Now is a particularly good time to invest in nature-based solutions, because the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act have injected billions of dollars into disaster mitigation and resilience efforts.

This is where the National Wildlife Federation's newly updated Nature-based Solutions Funding Database comes into play.

Planners at the local and regional level may not be aware of all the different programs that can be used to fund nature-based solutions. Our free database allows city and county staff to quickly identify all the programs that can be used to fund efforts mitigating risk, ensuring communities don't miss out on these unprecedented opportunities for nature-based projects.

Finding Funding That Fits Your Needs

The Funding Database can filter for various criteria, like program purpose, recipient eligibility, or whether the support is a grant or a loan. This allows users to find the programs that fit their needs.

Cost-sharing, when expenses are shared between the government and recipient, is a common barrier. Users can search for grant or loan programs that don't require cost-share, or have a cost-share that is adjusted based on need.

Our new case studies include advice from recipients of federal funding, who share insights into navigating the application and selection processes. One rural community in Montana secured over $4 million in federal grants to protect its population of less than 2,000 from floods. The city of West Memphis, AR, received Department of Transportation funding, which has recently authorized nature-based practices as an eligible use, to protect critical highway infrastructure and adjacent floodplain, while expanding outdoor recreation opportunities for residents in the Greater Memphis area.

Floodplain restoration along the banks of the Mississippi in West Memphis, AR. Credit: Big River Conservancy

The database aims to highlight some less well-known funding programs that can support nature-based solutions. The tool is designed to illuminate these opportunities, utilizing "tags" at the bottom of the page to enable users to explore similar programs. For example, you can search all programs that provide funding for flood/storm risk reduction or reduce the risk of wildfire.

In addition to funding, the database includes resources for capacity building and technical assistance. The 'Resources' section also catalogs useful guides and tools to support communities interested in nature-based solutions.

Nature-based solutions often do the most good for the least amount of funding. With our database, we hope to demystify the federal funding process so that more places can harness the power of nature to address -and prevent-natural disasters.

Explore now: Funding Nature-based Solutions Database

Have feedback to share? Contact Mahtaab Bagherzadeh