Economic Benefits of Nature-based Solutions

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) have released a joint report: Strengthening the Economic Case for Nature-based Solutions: Ideas for Cross-Sector Collaboration. The report is the summary of findings from a roundtable of 21 leaders from multiple sectors hosted by ASLA and LAF in March 2026. The report was authored by Dr. Jennifer Egan, University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center, ASLA, and LAF. 

The members of the roundtable identified three challenge areas in making the economic case for nature-based approaches to policymakers and public and private funders: 

• Challenges in measuring economic benefits and translating them into investment decisions
• Gaps in the scale of analysis and data availability
• Challenges in making the policy and funding case 

The roundtable also identified three opportunities for cross-sector collaboration to address these challenges: 

• Standardize measurement and improve data availability
• Better leverage policy and leadership to make the case
• Tell a more complete story of the economic benefits of nature-based solutions

And the roundtable honed in on 10 key cross-sector actions to advance over the next few years, which they organized into three categories: 

Build a New Coalition

• Support development of a cross-sector community of practice and co-creation workshops.
• Develop shared language on economic benefits across sectors.
• Further explore the complexities of shared incentives.

Make Economic Benefits Evaluation More Accessible to Landscape Architects and Development Partners

• Co-develop standard, accessible approaches for measuring the economic benefits of nature-based solutions, including a new pre-project measurement framework.
• Establish a case study framework for sharing economic lessons learned.
• Provide education to landscape architects and allies on how to measure economic benefits.

Enable Cross-Sector Research

• Develop a research grant program to advance cross-sector economic research.
• Co-develop a new research agenda with healthcare and public health organizations.
• Research effective advocacy strategies for shifting city policymakers towards nature-based solutions. 
• Partner with civil engineers on nature-based solutions.

The ASLA-LAF Roundtable on the Economic Benefits of Nature-based Solutions included 21 leaders from 3 countries and 11 U.S. States, representing a range of sectors: 

• Landscape architecture educators
• Landscape architecture practitioners
• Developers
• Environmental economists
• Health and healthcare leaders
• Insurance leaders
• International organization leaders
• Municipal agency leaders
• Non-profit organization leaders
• Real estate and economic development advisors
• Water management leaders