Executive Summary
The National Academies’ Gulf Research Program will host the third annual National Forum on Nature-Based Solutions in Mobile, Alabama, from March 10 to 12, 2026, offering both in-person and online participation options. The three-day event focuses on four key issues currently driving the national conversation on nature-based solutions: scale, financing, policy, and collaboration. Since the forum is part of a Gulf Research Program established in 2013 with $500 million from Deepwater Horizon criminal settlement funds, it is more than just a conference; it provides a timely update on the future of coastal resilience, natural infrastructure, and implementation strategies (National Academies, Forum page, 2026; National Academies, Gulf Research Program page, 2026).
The Forum Opens March 10 in Mobile and Online
Registration is open for the event at the MacQueen Alumni Center, 100 Alumni Dr., Mobile, Alabama 36688, and the National Academies also offers an online attendance option. The forum is the third annual event in this series, following a National Policy Forum on Nature-based Solutions in 2024 and a National Practice Forum on Nature-based Solutions in 2025, indicating that the institution is building a sustained national platform on the topic rather than hosting a one-time event (National Academies, Forum page, 2026).
Four Issues Will Shape the 3-Day Agenda
The forum’s focus is clearly defined: spatial and temporal scales of implementing nature-based solutions, financing and economic issues, policy updates, and best practices for collaboration and co-production. For a field often discussed in broad resilience terms, this matters because it shifts focus toward the operational questions that determine whether projects are designed, funded, approved, and maintained at scale (National Academies, Forum page, 2026).
The Schedule Is Built Around 1 Field Trip, 4 Panels, 2 Lightning-Talk Blocks, and 1 Poster Session
The published agenda outlines a program designed for implementation, not only theory. Day 1 features a field trip to Dauphin Island and the Auburn University Shellfish Laboratory, followed by a coastside chat and a welcome reception. Day 2 focuses on the policy landscape, co-production, breakout sessions, lightning talks on benefits and co-benefits, a panel on spatial design, tech talks, and a poster-session reception. Day 3 covers resilience and financing, with a plenary, a second set of lightning talks, and a dedicated funding panel, making economics a central topic rather than a secondary discussion (National Academies, Agenda, 2026).
Nature-Based Solutions Are Moving From Concept to Deployment
The National Academies describes nature-based solutions as strategies that can reduce flooding, coastal erosion, and extreme weather while enhancing biodiversity, ecosystem function, and community well-being. The invitation material makes this concrete with examples such as increasing urban canopy cover to lower heat and building reefs to reduce storm-driven wave motion, turning nature-based solutions from a policy label into projects that local governments, engineers, planners, and community leaders can practically evaluate (National Academies, Forum description, 2026; National Academies, Invitation, 2026).
The Gulf Research Program Brings Institutional Weight
The forum is hosted by the Gulf Research Program, an independent, science-based program of the National Academies founded in 2013 as part of legal settlements related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. The program states it was created with $500 million from criminal settlement funds after a spill and became the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. On its unit page, GRP lists 91 projects and 492 events, giving this forum a larger institutional footprint than a typical stand-alone workshop (National Academies, Gulf Research Program page, 2026).
The Gulf Coast Context Keeps the Stakes High
GRP’s own framing of the Gulf Coast explains why this meeting matters now. The program states that many Gulf communities face compounded disasters, prolonged recovery periods, rising social vulnerability, coastal erosion, sea-level rise, and the tension between human development and environmental restoration. In that context, a forum focused on implementation also addresses risk reduction, community resilience, and the real-world economics of adaptation (National Academies, Gulf Research Program page, 2026).
Funding Is No Longer a Side Conversation
Recent GRP announcements highlight the significant flow of funds into Gulf resilience and environmental projects: over $7 million to improve scientific understanding of sea-level variation and rise, $4 million with NOAA for environmental literacy and community resilience through six place-based projects in the five Gulf states, and more than $2.7 million allocated for four workforce-development initiatives related to the energy transition. In this context, the forum’s financing track appears less like theory and more like a clear signal that agencies, funders, and practitioners are feeling pressure to transform nature-based solutions into projects that are financeable, scalable, and monitorable (National Academies, Gulf Research Program page, 2026; National Academies, Agenda, 2026).
Why This Forum Matters Beyond Mobile
The audience profile is one of the clearest indicators of the event’s importance. The National Academies states the forum aims to connect engineers, scientists, policymakers, planners, community leaders, practitioners, and financiers—a diverse group for a topic often confined to environmental policy or planning circles. This cross-sector structure indicates that the bigger story isn’t limited to raising awareness of nature-based solutions, but also to making their implementation more consistent across policy, design, community involvement, and funding (National Academies, Forum description, 2026).
What to Watch After March 12
Two follow-through signals are notable. First, the National Academies states that proceedings will be released after the workshop, indicating the event is likely to produce an official public record. Second, the Dauphin Island field trip is already full and has a waitlist, suggesting that participants value on-the-ground project examples, especially as the field aims to move from pilots to broader implementation (National Academies, Forum description, 2026; National Academies, Agenda, 2026).
FAQs
- What is the National Forum on Nature-Based Solutions? It is the third annual National Academies forum focused on implementation, practice, and policy related to nature-based solutions. The National Academies describes it as a public-facing workshop, and a proceedings document will be published after the event (National Academies, Forum page, 2026).
- When and where is the forum happening? The forum is scheduled for March 10–12, 2026, at the MacQueen Alumni Center in Mobile, Alabama, with an option for online attendance. The first day features a Dauphin Island field trip that is currently full and has a waitlist (National Academies, Forum page, 2026; National Academies, Agenda, 2026).
- What topics will the forum cover? Sessions focus on scale, financing and economic considerations, policy updates, and collaboration or co-production. The agenda also includes panels on spatial design, resilience, and funding, plus lightning talks, tech talks, and a poster session (National Academies, Forum page, 2026; National Academies, Agenda, 2026).
- Why is the Gulf Research Program leading this effort? GRP states its mission is to apply science to enhance offshore energy safety, environmental protection, and the well-being of Gulf communities. It was established in 2013 following Deepwater Horizon-related settlements and now manages 91 projects and 492 events, making it a fitting institutional home for an implementation-focused, nature-based solutions forum (National Academies, Gulf Research Program page, 2026).
- Who should pay attention to this event? Local governments, engineers, planners, community groups, academics, and financiers all have a stake in the forum, which aims to turn nature-based solutions into repeatable practice rather than isolated pilots. Anyone tracking coastal resilience, natural infrastructure, adaptation finance, or Gulf Coast policy should read the agenda as a signal of where the conversation is moving next (National Academies, Forum description, 2026; National Academies, Agenda, 2026).
Sources
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2026). Gulf Research Program. National Academies.
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2026). National Forum on Nature-Based Solutions. National Academies.
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2026). National Forum on Nature-based Solutions agenda [PDF]. National Academies.
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