UMassD Sustainable Blue Economy Faculty roundtable on Nature-Based Solutions
Join us for a UMassD blue economy roundtable presentation and discussion on Nature-based Solutions: cost-effectiveness, resilience, and financial innovation. We will be joined by guest speaker Dr. Marta Vicarelli, Assistant Professor of Economics and Public Policy, UMass Amherst
When: Wednesday April 23rd, 10:30-12:30 in the Claire T. Carney Library Grand Reading Room
Why: This event launches a new UMassD Faculty Community of Practice and Training Network in the sustainable blue economy, to foster interaction among the university community on integrated solutions and develop capacity in open approaches to community building and engagement to support regional understanding and literacy around coastal development.
What: Supported by university blue economy seed funding, this faculty roundtable will feature a seminar by Professor Vicarelli (talk details below) as followed by Q&A and discussion. UMassD professors Gavin Fay (Fisheries Oceanography), Chad McGuire (Public Policy), and Nefeli Bompoti (Civil and Environmental Engineering) will also outline our new community of practice initiative and look forward to discussing shared plans for programming and our work together beginning fall semester 2025.
All faculty, staff, and students interested in these topics are welcome to attend. Please RSVP before Friday April 18 by completing this short form.
Additional questions can be directed to Dr. Gavin Fay
Nature-based Solutions: cost-effectiveness, resilience, and financial innovation
Dr. Marta Vicarelli
Assistant Professor of Economics and Public Policy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Description:
Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have emerged as effective strategies to enhance climate change adaptation and mitigate disaster risk, while providing biodiversity benefits. The first part of this talk will provide an overview of the global scientific evidence on the cost-effectiveness of NbS. We will then examine the results of a survey study investigating challenges and opportunities associated with the implementation of NbS in Massachusetts. Financed primarily by the public sector, NbS can increase the resilience of local economies. A transformative upscaling of NbS will require innovative financing mechanisms involving the private sector. The last part of the talk will present the outcomes of the "Naturance" project (i.e., “Nature+Insurance”). Funded by the European Union, this project catalyzed partnerships between academia, the public sector and the insurance sector to accelerate the design of innovative financing mechanisms and performance metrics for NbS.
Bio:
Marta Vicarelli is Assistant Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her research focuses on: (i) the risks and the socio-economic impacts of climate variability and climate change; (ii) the economics of Nature-based Solutions for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation; (iii) climate resilience and green-recovery strategies; and (iv) renewable energy policy. She is contributing author to the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report, Working Group II, on impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Past appointments include research fellowships at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Institute for Space Studies, the Harvard University’s Center for International Development and Yale University Climate and Energy Institute. She is currently a research associate at the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change and University Ca’ Foscari, Venice, Italy. Vicarelli holds a PhD in Sustainable Development from Columbia University.
Claire T. Carney Library Grand Reading Room
285 Old Westport Rd, Dartmouth, MA 02747
Gavin Fay
gfay@umassd.edu