Using big datasets to navigate trade-offs and maximise benefits from the land
Overview
Our research on sustainable infrastructure systems challenges us to understand the interactions between the built and natural environments. We study how land use changes take place, often facilitated by the provision of infrastructure. We seek to understand how use of natural resources, for example water, impacts upon the natural environment and agriculture. We have made important research contributions in studying climate risks to agriculture, in particular the risk of ‘multiple breadbasket failures’, and the impacts of agriculture on water scarcity and water quality. We study how nature-based solutions, like catchment afforestation, mangrove restoration and sustainable drainage systems can substitute for ‘grey’ infrastructure.
Projects
Nature-based Solutions for resilient infrastructure
OPSIS’s partnership with the Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA) aims to help unlock investments in nature-based solutions by addressing key data gaps to: a) assess and price climate risk for infrastructure systems; b) quantify the value of existing nature-based assets in protecting these systems; and c) use this data to identify and evaluate NBS investment options. Outputs include a spatial tool available at a global scale that integrates new data and cutting-edge analytical approaches to determine the scale at which nature-based solutions can protect infrastructure.