
Dossier
Building with Nature
Building with nature is a concept where nature is used to cope with climate change risks, such as floods, waves and sea level rise. It is also called 'nature-based solutions' or 'eco-engineering'. In this dossier you can find news, background information and results from scientists of Wageningen University & Research.
An oyster reef to protect the coast, mangroves or willows in front of the dyke. Slowly but surely, a new insight is gaining ground: hard civil engineering interventions by themselves are not a panacea. Nature seems willing to help us keep the upper hand over the advancing waves and rising sea levels and provides us with new sources of food and income.
Water engineering projects have become a lot greener, and Wageningen has played an important role in this. Together with the water engineering sector, we are developing water works that leave natural processes intact or make them part of the solution. There could even be restoration of the natural environment.
Go to
- The Netherlands in 2120: Imagine what the world could look like if we start shaping it from a nature-based perspective today?
- Salt marshes: natural surge barriers in front of the dike
- Sand nourishment: a solution for ‘sand starvation’
- Room for the river in densely populated areas
Downloads & Links
- "Weaving dams to defend mangroves", Wageningen World no. 1 2017
- Article online: Nature lends a hand from Wageningen World no. 2 2013
- Flyer: Building with Nature
- Website: EcoShape – Building with Nature
- "Building with Nature gebruikt de natuur bij waterbouw"
Publications on building with nature
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Nieuwe kansen voor duurzame garnalenkweek in Bangladesh
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Monitoring contaminants in Lac Bay water samples by applying passive samplers : A combination of target and non-target screening approach
IJmuiden: Wageningen Marine Research (Wageningen Marine Research report C002/25) -
Linking Soil Fertility and Production Constraints with Local Knowledge and Practices for Two Different Mangrove Swamp Rice Agroecologies, Guinea-Bissau, West Africa
Agronomy (2025), Volume: 15, Issue: 2 - ISSN 2073-4395 -
Monitoring Pilot Study of Temporary Permeable Structures for Mangrove Restoration
Water (Switzerland) (2025), Volume: 17, Issue: 4 - ISSN 2073-4441 -
Modeling soil water and salinity dynamics in mangrove swamp rice production system of Guinea Bissau, West Africa
Agricultural Water Management (2025), Volume: 313 - ISSN 0378-3774 -
Unravelling Mangrove Storm Damage Resistance for Sustainable Flood Defense Safety Using 3D-Printed Mimics
Sustainability (Switzerland) (2025), Volume: 17, Issue: 6 - ISSN 2071-1050 -
Soil physicochemical characterization and suitability assessment for the coastal mangrove swamp rice production system in Guinea-Bissau
Catena (2025), Volume: 256 - ISSN 0341-8162 -
Advances in soil salinity diagnosis for mangrove swamp rice production in Guinea Bissau, West Africa
Science of Remote Sensing (2025), Volume: 11 - ISSN 2666-0172 -
Land Surface Phenology in Global Change Studies
In: Phenology - Springer - ISBN: 9783031750267 - p. 505-529. -
Conservation state of the mangrove forests of Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands
Den Helder: Wageningen Marine Research (Wageningen Marine Research report C042/25)