Rail industry knowledge, experience and perceptions on the use of nature-based solutions as climate change adaptation measures in Australia and the United Kingdom

Abstract

Nature-based solutions (NbS) have been identified as sustainable adaptation measures which could be applied to rail infrastructure in response to the impacts of climate change whilst also providing highly valued co-benefits. To date, however, only a limited number of examples of their use have been found in rail, and there has been little investigation into barriers to their uptake. We use an online questionnaire to examine rail industry professionals’ knowledge, experience and thoughts in relation to perceived and/or actual obstacles to the use of NbS as climate change adaptation (CCA) measures for railways, and establish what could aid their wider implementation. This research confirms multiple examples of NbS being used in rail which are not included in the literature, and identifies a lack of awareness of NbS as the largest perceived barrier to their uptake. Education on and promotion of NbS in the industry will therefore be key to its successful widespread deployment. Policy, standards, and client specification were viewed as the best vehicles to enable greater NbS uptake; rail NbS case studies are therefore recommended as means of gathering robust evidence and examples to inform the development of these instruments. Demonstration sites could be used to inform rail stakeholders and communities to garner wider support for the concept. These may also be valuable to the work of researchers and practitioners investigating the wider development and deployment of NbS as sustainable CCA measures across wider (non-rail) sectors and scenarios.