Natural hazards pose an increasing threat to infrastructures, lives, and livelihoods in alpine regions due to climate change and the growing demand for settlement space. While grey protective structures are commonly deployed to provide immediate safety, their sustainability, and thus protective function, is limited by cost-intensive maintenance. Nature-based solutions (NbS) can alleviate these shortcomings by offering cost-effective, adaptive protection that strengthens over time, making their deployment a key factor in building resilience to climate-induced hazards. This paper introduces a systematic methodology for the strategic deployment of NbS to enhance climate resilience. It integrates a three-level hazard classification system with an expert-led assessment rating 74 NbS against 29 hazards. A subsequent Principal Component Analysis (PCA) synthesises these into six functional groupings based on their shared mitigation characteristics. The core of this framework introduces two key innovations: a novel Mitigation Score and a Hazard Mitigation Profile. Together, they evaluate NbS effectiveness dynamically through the different phases of natural hazards, surpassing traditional static ratings by evaluating NbS performance across the hazard management cycle—from predisposition to post-event recovery. Significant variation in mitigation scoring was observed for individual hazard classes and types. Erosion processes (e.g., sheet, rill, and gully erosion) achieved the highest mitigation scores (1.90), as they can be addressed by many highly effective NbS (21–33 types). Conversely, flood-related hazards, such as fluvial and pluvial floods, showed moderate scores (1.64–1.66) with a balanced mix of mitigative and supportive NbS, while options for mitigating impact floods and coastal floods were far more limited (1.00–1.42). The resulting methodology provides a crucial, practical link between specific climate-related threats and viable, nature-based responses, serving as a robust framework to guide the decisions of planners, engineers, and policymakers. By enabling a more strategic and temporally aware deployment of NbS, our findings inform the development of adaptive management strategies to ensure their long-term effectiveness.

Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of natural hazards, placing additional stress on critical infrastructure systems. Addressing these challenges requires both robust evaluation frameworks and the inclusion of Nature-Based Solutions (NbSs) alongside conventional protection measures. Building on the RAMSSHEEP concept, originally proposed for risk-driven maintenance, and later further developed and applied in, e.g., previous Horizon projects and COST Action TU1406, this study integrates natural hazard considerations and NbS risk mitigation measures into a comprehensive approach to evaluate the resilience of critical infrastructure. The novel methodology involves a structured expert elicitation process with participants from the Horizon NATURE-DEMO project, to adapt and extend the RAMSSHEEP framework for resilience-oriented transformation. This also includes alignment with established hazard and risk assessment systems to ensure methodological consistency and applicability of the final concept. The resulting framework enables systematic evaluation of infrastructure vulnerability and resilience, explicitly accounting for natural hazards and the contribution of NbSs to risk mitigation. The expected outcome is an objective, repeatable assessment methodology that supports decision-makers in planning, prioritizing, and monitoring resilience-enhancing measures across the infrastructure life cycle. A particular focus of this contribution lies in the methodological approach, ensuring its applicability within interdisciplinary and multi-level decision-making contexts.

The integration of urban green space management into erosion control for streambanks and embankments addresses essential environmental challenges by linking urban green spaces (UGS) with natural hazard (NH) mitigation. This strategic approach emphasizes comprehensive management that harmonizes seemingly different domains. At first glance, erosion stabilization measures and UGS appear distinct, yet they address similar processes from different perspectives. Central to this integration is vegetation assessment, vital for functions such as erosion control and urban ecosystem enhancement. Assessing vegetation through field evaluations and remote sensing is key for understanding how it interacts with soil, especially in terms of soil moisture, which is vital for slope stability and drought mitigation. This process is essential for evaluating the health and type of vegetation and its structural characteristics.Decision-making in system selection and management for erosion control should adopt a lifecycle perspective, encompassing environmental and economic impacts. This includes considerations from material selection to maintenance and eventual decommissioning, aiming for sustainable, cost-effective approaches. Additionally, there is a wealth of knowledge in communal and city green space management that can potentially be adapted and transferred to meet the requirements of erosion control. The choice of vegetation is crucial for decisions in both urban areas and for slope stabilization measures. The role of evapotranspiration in enhancing soil cohesion and reducing erosion risk, especially in urban green spaces (UGS) and nature-based systems, is significant. These methods not only ensure slope stability but also offer urban benefits, like mitigating urban heat island (UHI) effects. In adapting to climate change for effective erosion protection strategies, the key distinction is found in the detailed assessment of specific parameters from UGS and their application to erosion control methods. This focused evaluation ensures that erosion control measures are not only effective but also congruent with the distinct ecological aspects of urban environments. By carefully analyzing factors like vegetation type, soil characteristics, and water management in UGS, these insights become invaluable in strengthening the resilience and adaptability of erosion control strategies. This strategy goes beyond mere soil erosion reduction; it plays a pivotal role in enriching ecosystem capacities. By fostering biodiversity and refining the utility of green spaces, it contributes to the development of landscapes that are both sustainable and better equipped to adapt to climate change. This holistic approach underlines the multi-faceted benefits of integrating green space management into broader environmental resilience planning.

For decades, alpine hazard management has relied on “grey” infrastructure such as protective structures and retaining walls to provide immediate safety. However, these major construction interventions and investments require regular maintenance, renovation or even replacement. This often involves significant financial efforts and management obligations, entailing open discussions on alternative management approaches.Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have emerged as a sustainable alternative or complementation to conventional grey interventions within natural hazard management. The various forms of NbS have been serving as a toolkit to complement the hitherto, mainly structure-based protection approach, and they hold potential for a more comprehensive application instead of replacing outdated structures. NBS provide protection over long periods of time, with the biological component being strengthened during maturation and eventually taking over and entirely maintaining the protective function. The greatest advantage is that NbS may provide protection against certain natural hazards types for decades without significant maintenance costs.Evaluating NbS structures, their effects and performances is currently under scientific focus, however methods for NbS evaluation in a quantifiable manner especially on a large scale, has remained a challenge. In many cases, the benefit of the NbS is evident, but measurability is often lacking. This study evaluates NbS implemented during the last two decades to stabilise the Gschliefgraben landslide area in Upper Austria, as part of the Horizon NatureDEMO project. We combine high-resolution UAV data with on-site inspections to assess the functionality and physical condition of the NbS interventions. These two approaches, when combined, should offer a way to monitor NBS projects on a larger scale more easily.Furthermore, the study introduces a guideline to quantify the impact and benefits of NbS on basis of figures and parameters. In addition, emphasis is placed on dynamic protection performance to better reflect the time course and biological components of NbS methods. The methodology is linked to measurable variables and is developed in line with Eurocode 2. The ongoing pilot study aims to provide empirical data to build a theoretical framework towards integrating NbS into the Eurocode System.

With the increasing frequency and intensity of climate-induced hazards, ensuring the safety and resilience of Europe's critical infrastructure is paramount to maintain economic flows, human well-being, and social stability throughout the continent. Whilst merely grey and technical solutions and approaches have been reaching their limits recently, Nature-based Solutions have gained attention in terms of supporting, re-integrating and restoring ecosystems, in order to raise their service potential and to reduce risks of hazard-related damage. However, established critical infrastructure and natural hazard assessment approaches need to be brought in line with NbS potential consideration, integral approaches respectively integration of NbS are needed in order to provide decision support and adapt to climate-change-related demands.We present a concept for a decision support tool based on the RAMSSHEEP-method. Our contribution evolves from the participation in the NATURE-DEMO project that aims to develop an advanced digital decision support platform that integrates climate projections, asset exposure, NbS catalogue portfolios, and advanced simulations to optimise the efficiency of NbS implementations. The RAMSSHEEP method is employed in this context to evaluate the protection of critical infrastructure, using performance indicators (PIs) and key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of NbS. The method includes hazard characterization tools, grey infrastructure characterization tools, and nature-based characterization tools for a comprehensive assessment. The evaluation considers various factors, including safety, reliability, security, economy, environment, health, and politics. By pioneering a scalable, digitally-enabled, and validated framework for implementing NbS, The adaptation of the RAMSSHEEP approach aims to synthesise and link the assessment of natural hazards, critical infrastructure risk and NbS potential.