Publications
Natural Infrastructure for Water
We empower governments, businesses, utilities, and communities to enhance water security by investing in “natural infrastructure,” like forests and wetlands, as part of a portfolio of smart solutions to growing water challenges.
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Green-Gray Assessment: How to Assess the Costs and Benefits of Green Infrastructure for Water Supply Systems
by Erin Gray, Suzanne Ozment, Juan-Carlos Altamirano, Rafael Feltran-Barbieri and Ana Gabriela Morales - August 2019Building on recent applications in Latin America, this paper overviews WRI’s Green-Gray Assessment method, and provides recommendations for applications.
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Natural Infrastructure for Aquifer Recharge Financial Calculator: Method, Data and Assumptions
by Ana Gabriela Morales, Suzanne Ozment and Erin Gray - August 2019The Natural Infrastructure for Aquifer Recharge Financial Calculator, is an excel based tool with a flexible financial model that estimates the private costs and benefits, including the return on investment (ROI), of natural infrastructure interventions designed to enhance aquifer recharge. The technical note explains the methods, data and assumptions used to produce the tool.
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Integrating Green and Gray: Creating Next Generation Infrastructure
by Greg Browder, Suzanne Ozment, Irene Rehberger Bescos, Todd Gartner and Glenn-Marie Lange - March 2019This report explores how integrating nature into built, gray infrastructure systems can help provide services like food, flood protection, and clean water. These green solutions can open new opportunities for financing, and boost resilience to climate change.
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Natural Infrastructure in São Paulo’s Water System
by Suzanne Ozment, Rafael Feltran-Barbieri, Erin Gray, Perrine Hamel (Senior Scientist, Natural Capital Project), Juliana Baladelli Ribeiro (Environmental Analyst with Nature-Based Solutions, Boticário Group Foundation for Nature Protection), Samuel Roiphe Barrêto (Brazil Conservation Manager, The Nature Conservancy), Aurélio Padovezi and Thiago Piazzetta Valente (Environmental Analyst with Nature-Based Solutions, Boticário Group Foundation for Nature Protection) - September 2018Incorporating natural infrastructure into water management plans can cost-effectively improve infrastructure system performance and resilience.
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Water Infrastructure Criteria under the Climate Bonds Standard
by Todd Gartner, Climate Bonds Initiative, CDP, Ceres and Alliance for Global Water Adaptation - May 2018Green bonds finance sustainable infrastructure projects. A new criteria sets standards for green bonds for built and natural water infrastructure.
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Protecting Drinking Water at the Source
Lessons from United States Watershed Investment Programs
by Suzanne Ozment, Todd Gartner, Heidi Huber-Stearns, Kara DiFrancesco, Nathaniel Lichten and Sylvia Tognetti - October 2016Based on a 3-year comparative case study analysis of 13 watershed investment programs, this report provides lessons to guide water utilities and communities as they work together in protecting drinking water supply at the source.
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Building a Water Quality Trading Program: Options and Considerations
A Product of the National Network on Water Quality Trading
by Todd Gartner - June 2015The United States has made significant progress in cleaning its rivers, lakes, and oceans. Investment in wastewater treatment plant technology, conservation practices with land managers, and restoration of natural systems is working in many places.
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Revaluing Ecosystems
Pathways For Scaling up the Inclusion of Ecosystem Value in Decision Making
by Lauretta Burke, Janet Ranganathan and Robert Winterbottom - April 2015Ecosystems provide essential services to society, from pollination and filtering of pollution to climate and water regulation.
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Natural Infrastructure
Investing in Forested Landscapes for Source Water Protection in the United States
by Todd Gartner, James Mulligan, Rowan Schmidt and John Gunn - October 2013Natural ecosystems like forests and wetlands provide essential services to water utilities, businesses, and communities—from water flow regulation and flood control to water purification and water temperature regulation.
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Insights from the Field: Forests for Water
by John Talberth, Erin Gray, Evan Branosky and Todd Gartner - February 2012Summary
- In the Neuse River Basin in North Carolina, WRI is working with partners to identify beneficiaries and their water-related dependencies. We learned that clear documentation of the risks that beneficiaries face from water pollution, drought, and watershed