NAIAD

NAIAD aims to operationalise the insurance value of ecosystems to reduce the human and economic cost of risks associated with water (floods and drought) by developing and testing – with key insurers and municipalities – the concepts, tools, applications and instruments (business models) necessary for its mainstreaming. We will do this in detail for 8 demonstration sites (DEMOs) throughout Europe and develop tools and methods applicable and transferable across all of Europe.

The assumption is that Natural Assurance Schemes can reduce risk, especially to drought and flooding, and this risk reduction can be assessed and incorporated within insurance schemes.

NAIAD´s conceptual frame is based on three pillars:

(i) to help build a resilience approach to risk management through nature based solutions,

(ii) the operationalisation and testing of scientific methods using a source-to-sea in DEMOs,

(iii) the uptake of nature based solutions that are cost-effective and provide environmental, social and economic benefits.

Trans-disciplinarity and stakeholder engagement are at the core of NAIAD for two reasons: first, because the conceptual and assessment methodologies combine physical, social and cultural and economic aspects, integrated into tools and methods but second, and most importantly “road tested” and validated with the stakeholders and end users themselves at the DEMOs.

NAIAD will contribute to providing a robust framework for assessing insurance value for ecosystem services by (i) enabling full operationalisation through improved understanding of ecosystem functionality and its insurance value at a broad range of scales in both urban and rural context; (ii) making explicit the links between ecosystem values and social risk perception; and (iii) the application of developed methods and tools in water management by relevant stakeholders, especially businesses, public authorities and utilities.

The overall common vision of NAIAD Project has been defined by NAIAD partners, the members of NAIAD Advisory Panels and external experts in the multi-disciplines present at NAIAD.

A robust assessment framework to measure the insurance value of NBS is in development, it builds on biophysical assessment options and economic assessment that will take the form of a Multi-criteria-analysis. The ecosystems functionality in the different Demonstration cases (at small, medium and large scales) has been completed and scale-tailored models are being developed that eventually will be integrated, together with the methodologies co-developed with local stakeholders in two tools: i) an eco: engine platform designed for the insurance and financial actors will enable the integration of physical system knowledge from project partners into a single web application to analyse these systems spatially for baseline and scenario conditions; ii) An open-web platform capable of combining many types of biophysical, social, economic and Climate data and model into an effective policy support system, providing insurance value assessment to specific stakeholders and policymakers.

The links between ecosystems values and social risk perception have been studied through collaborative local stakeholders workshops developed in the 9 Demonstration sites focussed on risk perception, problem definition and NBS assessment.

The Europe insurance systems and Nature Assurance Schemes have been characterized in a survey developed at Europe level, covering 11 countries. Infographics explaining the particular insurances schemes operating in each of these countries has been published on NAIAD website (www.naiad2020.eu). It enables to anticipate the potential roles of the insurance industry in the development of Nature Based Solutions.

The First Policy Roundtable took place in Spain during the KoM and in Stockholm, during the World Water Week 2017. An initial characterization of drivers and barriers for operationalization and the mapping of policy frameworks and market scoping on instruments and Business models. The means of verification is the publication of the minutes of the First Policy Roundtable into NAIAD website.

The Initial results from scientific work packages have been published in public deliverables available at NAIAD website (www.naiad2020.eu).