Nature-aligned engineering (NAE) in coastal infrastructure development: A systematic review

Coastal cities and ports are deeply interconnected with surrounding natural ecosystems, which pose both unique challenges and opportunities when it comes to infrastructure development, such as roads and railways, ports, energy systems, housing, water supply, drainage systems and marine structures. With increasing loss of biodiversity and growing impacts of climate change in coastal regions, the engineering community must adopt a more holistic and nature-aligned (sustainable, adaptive and ecologically conscious) approach when developing coastal infrastructure. This study provides a global systematic review of the current state of knowledge and application of Nature-Aligned Engineering (NAE) methods in coastal infrastructure development. The study aims to advance the understanding of NAE methods and the associated barriers, enablers, and opportunities for integrating NAE methods within coastal infrastructure development frameworks. A systematic review approach was adopted to ensure comprehensive coverage of existing literature. Three databases were selected for the review process: Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. The latter was chosen to facilitate access to policy documents and technical reports. The review revealed that integration of NAE methods into coastal infrastructure development hinges on implementation of five strategic actions: skills development and knowledge enhancement, targeted research for data and evidence, policy support, standardization of methodologies for design, implementation and monitoring of NAE based infrastructure, and cross-sector collaboration that encourages coordination between engineers, ecologists, urban planners and community leaders. These actions will ensure that the NAE methods not only achieve technical feasibility but also environmental sustainability, social acceptance and economic viability.

Citation

Makokha, A., Daniel, E., Omai, L. M. & Ekakora, E. (in press) Nature-aligned engineering (NAE) in coastal infrastructure development: A systematic review, Municipal Engineer: Proceedings of the ICE

Type

Journal article

Language

en

Description

This is an accepted manuscript of an article due to be published by Muncipal Engineers of the City of New York in Municipal Engineers Journal on [dd/mm/yyyy], available online: [link to online copy tbc] The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.

ISSN

0965-0903

EISSN

1751-7699

Collections

Faculty of Science and Engineering