Nature‑based solutions (NbS) act as a catalyst for large‑scale transformations in vulnerable landscapes, enhancing climate adaptation by reducing exposure to climate‑related hazards and strengthening ecosystem resilience. In doing so, they also deliver valuable co‑benefits, including richer biodiversity and more robust, functional ecosystems. Addressing the complexity to fully mainstream NbS for climate adaptation requires the capacity to manage cross‑sectoral problems and to foster collaboration across multiple levels of governance, networks, and partnerships. Although interdisciplinary work which promotes mutual understanding is widely recognised as essential for effective climate action, achieving it in practice remains challenging.To address this challenge, a Systems Oriented Design (SOD) approach was employed to operationalise interdisciplinarity in the design and implementation of participatory processes. This approach supported a shared understanding of local needs related to the placement and selection of specific NbS interventions in two Norwegian municipalities, each facing distinct landscape hazards based on the local contexts. The two case study sites include the Hølenselva watershed in Vestby municipality, which is representative of the south‑eastern region of Norway. The area faces challenges such as landslides in sensitive marine clays, poor water quality in the catchment due to agriculture and landscape modifications that have increased the risk of flooding. The second case study site is in Aurland municipality and reflects the country’s west coast fjord landscapes. The area consists of fjords and mountains, with small settlements concentrated in the lower river valleys. The steep mountainsides make the area prone to landslides and snow avalanches, and the narrow valleys are experiencing frequent flooding, intensified by climate change in recent years.A SOD framework was developed to map complexity and gain insight into the case study sites. Working with a multidisciplinary team spanning social science, natural science, landscape architecture, and design, the system maps were analysed using a ZIPP approach to identify Zoom points, Ideas for interventions, as well as Problems and Potentials. These findings provided the basis for identifying leverage points for potential interventions in the system. After this preliminary mapping was completed, the maps and background documentation were presented to local stakeholders through two workshops conducted at each case study site to validate the system understanding, prioritise stakeholder needs, and introduce potential NbS options for their main concerns regarding natural hazards.The presentation will illustrate the application of SOD as a basis for stakeholder involvement at the two case study sites, showing how stakeholders understood system complexity and helped identify potential NbS to reduce flooding and landslide risk. It will also highlight challenges and positive experiences and provide examples of how stakeholder input informed the modelling and monitoring of selected NbS interventions that are not yet implemented and may be taken forward in future planning.

Abstract Background Reliable infrastructure is vital for Nordic societies, but they face escalating climate risks. Climate change is increasing magnitude and frequency of floods, storms, and landslides, making adaptive solutions crucial. Methods This review explores Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) for mitigating natural hazards along Nordic linear infrastructure. The motivation of the review comes as result of a preliminary survey conducted among to the main infrastructure managers in the Fennoscandian peninsula. The objective was to pinpoint the natural hazards that pose greatest concern under future climate scenarios, as well as to understand which specific information is needed to adopt NbS Results Floods, erosion, landslides and rockfalls emerged as primary hazards of concern for the infrastructure owners, hence the review process was focused only on NbS aimed at mitigating the effects of these specific hazards. A total of 78 documents were identified from the review process and were integrated with examples and case studies from other relevant on-going and past projects. Despite only a few of the NbS identified in these documents were directly implemented for linear infrastructure such as roads and railways, and none dealing with electric grids, several NbS were identified to have a potential for implementation for Nordic linear infrastructure. A list of NbS options, not all implemented along linear infrastructure but with potential for it, is provided. This list is meant to serve as “vade mecum” for a quick and easy access to NbS as mitigation options for linear infrastructure managers in the Nordic Countries. The NbS are classified in green, blue, green/blue and hybrid approaches, and supported by examples of case studies both in the Nordic Countries as well as countries having similar climates. Conclusions This review underlines the challenges and opportunities of adopting NbS. Challenges such as the lack of expertise, space and climate constraints, and path dependency on adoption of traditional infrastructure must be addressed to mainstream NbS. The review highlights the importance of standardization, European guidelines, and technical manuals in promoting NbS adoption among infrastructure managers, as well as the necessity of accounting for the wider co-benefits of NbS, including carbon sequestration, biodiversity and ecosystem services. This paper contributes to the understanding of NbS as potential natural hazards mitigation options for Nordic infrastructure networks in the face of evolving climate risks, providing valuable insights for infrastructure managers and policymakers alike.

Abstract. This paper evaluates the relation between rockfall events and weather conditions for two regions in Norway – Romsdalen and Gudbrandsdalen and explores how rockfall frequency might change with future climate conditions. Our analysis focuses on understanding the relationship between rockfall occurrence and effective water inputs, including rainfall and snow melt, and temperature oscillations both in cold conditions (freeze-thaw cycles) and in warm conditions (hot-cold cycles). To accomplish this, regional weather data and rockfall information in the Norwegian Mass Movement Database have been employed. Our results indicate that temperature oscillations might be better suited than effective water input to depict the occurrence of rockfalls in the two study areas in Norway. Freeze-thaw cycles are most frequent during winter and spring, and hot-cold cycles are most frequent during summer. Climate change will affect rockfall seasonality and the frequency in which freeze-thaw cycles and hot-cold cycles are observed. Thus, altering the exposure of population and infrastructures to rockfalls.

This article analyses adaptation to climate induced challenges in form of torrential rains hitting urban landscapes in Norway with increased frequency. Specifically, it investigates the influence of the industry structure on ethical challenges when the climate changes. A meta-analysis of the scientific output from a major multi-disciplinary research program is carried out. In addition, the methods include use of expert opinions, literature review and document studies. Climate change adaptation challenges disciplines within civil engineering and natural sciences. Following this, established practices need alteration as specialists face new ethical challenges. Practical climate change adaptation requires the ability to overcome silo mentality among the involved disciplines. Challenges involve acknowledging responsibility, transparency, and information quality. Engineering takes place in an environment of incomplete knowledge. In addition, there is a high degree of decentralised decision-making and directives, and laws and regulations are often lagging after the experienced challenges. Consequently, individual experts experience increased ethical challenges. Systemic circumstances apprehension is necessary for reducing societal risks within climate change adaptation. Both education of engineers and cooperation between specialists from different disciplines is needed to master the altered framework conditions.

Road construction in rugged terrain and variable, partly harsh climate is challenging. Proper assessment of natural hazards at an early planning stage can give large cost savings and safer roads. In assessing natural hazards along 720 km of planned roads in Norway, a GIS-based tool was developed to utilize publicly available data and dynamic runout models. The output is an outline of the most critical locations and serves to limit the extent of necessary field work. The Norwegian national susceptibility maps are generally conservative and using only these in the planning would give unrealistically high hazard levels. Various optimizing techniques were therefore implemented in the GIS tool and the outputs further calibrated against existing detailed hazard maps in selected locations and further validated during field work at the defined 'hotspots'. The field work comprised assessing return periods of unwanted events, probable road closure time, and relevant mitigation measures, all within sets of pre-defined ranges of values. The following consequence evaluation quantified the indirect economic consequences of closed road and assessed the consequence for emergency preparedness qualitatively. Other consequences were not considered in the study. Climate change was considered and evaluated to affect the probability for flooding and debris flows, whereas the link between climate change and the other assessed hazards was considered too uncertain to impact on the risk estimates. Results of the study were communicated through an interactive map solution, with key results presented as fact sheets activated in the map for each risk section of the roads.

The H2020 project PHUSICOS designs and implements NBS for DRR at demonstrator case sites in rural areas of Norway, Italy, and in the French and Spanish Pyrenees. This presentation covers four locations in the Pyrenees, where NBS to reduce risk from snow avalanches, rockfall and debris flows are implemented. Snow avalanches from the steep slopes of the Capet Forest threaten the French village of Barèges. The NBS here consist of afforestation in the release areas. 5000 trees have been planted in groups of 30-50, protected behind wooden tripods, which also act as protection structures until the trees are large enough to stabilize the snowpack. Rockfall poses a severe hazard at two locations along the important road A-136 / RD-934 between France and Spain. At St. Elena, Spain, the rocks are released by erosion of a slope in a thick till deposit. The implemented NBS consists of vegetated terraces, built up by a dry masonry wall and gabions constructed from wood and filled with the local till. At the location in Artouste, France, rockfalls in the steep slope are released from exposed ledges and from loose blocks in the till surface. The measures here consist of wooden stabilising and retaining structures for each individual ledge or block. These solutions are also tested at newly established laboratory and full-scale test facilities in Spain and France, respectively. The fourth location is near the Spanish village Erill-la-Vall, where debris flows from a >50m thick till deposit pose the threat. Several gullies feed the main debris flow path towards the village during periods of extreme precipitation. The implemented solution is a series of terraces, built up by local rocks and whole-log gabions in the lower parts of the gullies. These will prevent deepening of the erosional base and form increased rugosity in the debris flow paths. The site has been monitored during the last 15 years. In-situ borehole (piezometer) data shows two processes: a deep-seated (15-20 m) failure level, which reacts up to two weeks after a period of heavy rain, and shallow erosion, which reacts almost immediately as a direct response to heavy precipitation. The implemented NBS are primarily to mitigate against the latter process.The NBS described here all have large upscaling potential, as there are numerous locations in the Pyrenees and elsewhere with similar problems. Terracing and afforestation for slope stabilization is not a new concept but is here re-vitalized in cooperation with stakeholders through Living-Lab processes. These processes have also helped overcoming challenges related to land ownership issues and permissions to operate, e.g., in national parks, which have caused implementation delays. Monitoring of the implemented measures, focused on both the resilience aspect and, not the least, the NBS' co-benefits will be important for building up an evidence-base for the functionality of NBS for DRR.

The international partnership GEOMME seeks to develop collaborative activities in research and education on climate-induced geohazards in South Korea, Japan, and Norway. The partnership focuses on excellence in education and research to increase societal resilience against climate-induced geohazards. The objective of the GEOMME partnership is to increase the adaptive capacity of the partner nations to climate change through research-based education, knowledge exchange, and international collaboration. Activities centre on four scientific themes: (1) geohazards in a changing climate, (2) geohazards over large spatial scales, (3) advanced modelling and monitoring techniques, and (4) green solutions for hazard- and risk mitigation – including Nature-Based Solutions.A novel aspect of the GEOMME partnership is the collective development of four education packages – each focusing on one of the scientific themes. The target audience is graduate students, researchers and practitioners. Education packages consist of two components – an online module and an in-person research- and experience-based course. The online modules are standalone introductions to the scientific themes and are openly accessible. The modules promote rapid accessibility to international perspectives in geohazards education and research, guiding interested parties towards an understanding of these complex topics. The modules will live on beyond the project period, hosted by GEOMME partners. Intensive research- and experience-based courses are implemented as a follow-up to the online modules and allow affiliated partners to further develop in-depth expertise in the topic areas. The content of the education packages reflects the state-of-the-art in research and current state-of-practice in applications within the domains of the three partner countries.This contribution will present the approach of combining digital and in-person research-based teaching methodologies for geosciences, and experiences and challenges from early-stage implementation.The GEOMME partnership is financed through INTPART program the Research Council of Norway (project number 322469). The INPART program seeks to promote long-term international partnerships to enhance the quality of higher education and research in Norway. The GEOMME partnership is running between 2021 and 2026.

Rainfall-induced landslides represent an important hazard in mountainous regions worldwide. Landslides commonly impact the functioning of infrastructure assets such as roads and railways and occasionally damage buildings or result in fatalities. In the Nordic region, rainfall-induced landslides constitute a significant hazard, accounting for a considerable amount of Norway's national landslide database entries.Because of climate change, the frequency of rainfall and soil moisture conditions that usually trigger landslides will become more variable. This leads to weaker predictions for the location and frequency of future landslide events from current models. Understanding how the landslide hazard will change can help plan mitigation along linear infrastructure and reduce the risk to the population.Here, we report the findings from the NordicLink project, financed by Nordforsk, where a methodology to characterise landslide hazard at a global scale has been adopted to develop Nordic hazard maps.The methodology to characterise the landslide hazard at a global scale has been developed within the activities of the "Global Infrastructure Resilience Index" (GIRI) project, funded by the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). The method combines landslide susceptibility and rainfall to compute landslide probability at a global scale. The susceptibility map classifies terrains into five susceptibility classes by combining slope, vegetation, lithology, and soil moisture information from global datasets. Rainfall information has been obtained from the W5E5 dataset for the period 1979-2016 and the IPSL-CM6A-LR climate model from ISIMIP3b dataset SSP126 and SSP585 scenarios for the period 2061-2100. To characterise the rainfall triggering potential, the 24 h rainfall intensities have been used to distinguish between five rainfall hazard classes. Finally, a hazard matrix has been employed to combine landslide susceptibility and rainfall. The output is a probabilistic hazard map covering the world with a resolution of three arc seconds (approximately 90 m at the equator).In the NordicLink project, higher-quality Nordic-scale data and landslide inventories are used as input to the above-mentioned procedure to obtain probabilistic hazard maps covering Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The study concludes with a comparison between the NordicLink hazard maps and the (global) GIRI model. As expected, landslide hazard is higher in western Norway and decreases towards the East. Finland is the country with the lowest landslide hazard.

Cross-sectorial and cross-disciplinary collaboration, as well as public-private partnerships are necessary to handle the complexity of climate adaptation. The Research Council of Norway has established the Centres for Research-based Innovation (CRI) in which research- and education organizations, public entities and private enterprises join forces in 8-year long collaborations. CRI-Klima 2050 focuses on climate adaptation of buildings and infrastructure and runs several pilot projects to innovate new solutions for building resilience, stormwater- and landslide risk management. Several of the major infrastructure owners in Norway are partners in the centre. Norway is increasingly affected by precipitation triggered landslides. Klima 2050 pilot projects on landslide risk reduction include a web-based toolbox for prioritizing and choosing optimal mitigation measures, including Nature-Based Solutions, improved early warning systems and mitigation measures for slope instability, and improved local warning for hazardous weather systems, all developed in close collaboration between centre partners from different sectors and disciplines. The results of these projects can all be upscaled and are transferable to other infrastructure elements.

LaRiMiT (Landslide Risk Mitigation Toolbox) is a web-based database and user portal for identifying and selecting mitigation measures for a specific landslide case, assisted by an embedded expert scoring system. The webtool, developed within KLIMA2050, contains more than 80 structural landslide mitigation measures, including active (aimed at reducing the likelihood of a landslide) and passive (aimed at reducing the consequences) measures. For each mitigation measure a description, examples of application and design methods are provided, as well as references from literature. An Analytic Hierarchy Process resident in the toolbox provides a ranked list of suitable mitigation measures for a specific case. The quantitative scores reflect the input relevance weights and option scores. Recently, the database has been expanded to include also Nature-based solutions (NBS). NBS applied to landslide hazard mitigation are mostly known as soil and water bio-engineering (SWB) and the main SWB techniques have been categorized and added to the database. For these measures, the period of installation, the materials involved, advantages, and disadvantages are also provided. The database containing all the mitigation measures has open access to all users at https://www.larimit.com/. A survey was sent to a group of experts in landslide management and SWB selected worldwide, with a focus on Europe, asking them to assign scores to each mitigation measure in the toolbox. The survey was made using Microsoft Forms. Each measure was linked to a dedicated response page through a hyperlink, and the experts could submit a response for the mitigation measures they felt more comfortable with giving scores. For each mitigation measure selected, the experts were asked to assess the measure by scoring 33 parameters, based on existing landslide classifications with regards to the type of movement, material type, rate of movement of the landslide (among others), as well as feasibility, economic suitability, and environmental suitability. A total of 153 experts, among landlide mitigation managers and experts of SWB practices, were asked to fill the survey. An innovative methodology for utilising experts' scoring directly within the decision support tool, was proposed and used to calculate the final scores for each parameter of the landslide mitigation measures. It consisted in 5 phases, namely Data analysis, Data filtering, data weighing, Data comparison, and Score selection. A total of 38 out of the 153 invited experts (corresponding to just over 25%) contributed scores for at least one mitigation measure. In total, 296 responses were received of which 172 were for traditional mitigation measures, 111 for NBS, and 13 for hybrid solutions (combination of NBS and traditional engineering solutions). The results from this first pooling are discussed and analyzed, and the scores of 56 measures were updated on the basis of the pooling answers. All the NBS measures received between 3 and 9 responses, confirming that the NBS listed in the database were well known to most of the SWB experts who participated to the survey. The survey is still open and we encourage landslide mitigation experts that are willing to provide their contribution, to reach out the survey managers at vittoria.capobianco@ngi.no.

This paper presents recent innovations implemented in the LaRiMiT (Landslide Risk Mitigation Toolbox) webtool. These include an innovative methodology for utilising experts’ scoring of landslide risk mitigation measures directly within the decision support tool, and updating of the tool’s database over structural measures to include many nature-based solutions (NBS) for mitigating landslide risk. Landslides are a common and treacherous natural hazard, and due to the effect of climate change on the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, climate-driven landslides are expected to become more frequent. This negative trend is a driving factor for developing decision-support solutions for risk mitigation, and the LaRiMiT toolbox and the expert scoring methodology presented in this article contribute to meeting these needs. Selecting suitable structural measures is complicated due to factors such as site-specific conditions, local knowledge and resources, socio-economic constraints, and environmental considerations. LaRiMiT uses user-input attributes of site-specific slope movements combined with expert scoring of the suitability of various mitigation solutions to identify and select appropriate mitigation measures from an extensive database of structural solutions. While the LaRiMiT database initially included only conventional (grey) solutions relying on traditional methods, it has been recently expanded to include nature-based solutions (NBS), which are sustainable techniques for managing erosion and mitigating shallow landslides using vegetation and the use of natural materials. NBS and conventional solutions can also be combined to provide hybrid solutions. The proposed methodology for implementing expert scoring is dynamic and iterative, consisting of statistical pooling of experts’ scores collected via online surveys, and consolidating these into an expert scoring utility embedded in the LaRiMiT web portal engine. An initial application of this methodology has been tested by surveying a set of landslides experts, mostly in Europe, and applying it to the structural measures database in the LaRiMiT tool. Although the number of experts in this initial application is limited, dynamic updating of the scoring allows the tool to continuously improve as additional experts contribute.

Norway's high-relief landscape is susceptible to gravity-driven natural hazards including snow avalanches, landslides, debris flows, and rockfalls. Rockfalls are the most numerous geohazard in Norway. There are currently over 35 000 rockfall events registered in Norway's national hazard database, accounting for nearly 50% of the total number of events for all hazard types. Rockfalls commonly impact the functioning of infrastructure assets such as roads and railways, and occasionally damage buildings and result in death. The relationship between rockfall events and weather conditions is recognised but not straightforward. Several hydrometeorological variables are significant for rockfall triggering including precipitation, snow melt, freezing and thawing, temperature, insolation, and soil or rock moisture. The highest frequency of rockfall activity in Norway is observed in spring, a period of snowmelt and freeze-thaw cycling. Given the links to meteorological variables, rockfall frequency is expected to change with climate, altering the exposure of population and infrastructures to rockfalls. Rockfall risk mitigation at regional scale is challenging. Early warning systems are a helpful tool to depict the time and location of future rockfall events so that emergency managers can act in advance. At present, most existing rockfall early warning systems (REWS) are based on the monitoring and analysis of seismic signals to determine the movement of boulders or the cracking of joints. Little previous research has been conducted to analyse the meteorological conditions that could trigger rockfalls. There is currently no REWS in Norway. The main objective of this work is to investigate the feasibility of using hydrometeorological thresholds for regional scale rockfall warning. To do so rainfall, temperature, and soil moisture data from SeNorge.no, and the rockfall inventory contained in the Norwegian national hazard database have been analysed to find relations between the hydrometeorological conditions and the triggering of rockfalls in Norway.

Logging data are measurements of physical properties of the formation surrounding a borehole, acquired in situ after completion of coring (wireline logging) or during drilling (Logging-While-Drilling, LWD). The range of data (resistivity, gamma radiation, velocity, density, borehole images,…) in any hole depends on the scientific objectives and operational constraints.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are becoming increasingly important in both the EU and individual countries’ political agendas, as a sustainable means to reduce the risk posed by hydrometeorological hazards. However, as the use of NBS is increasing, a number of barriers regarding their practical implementation also become apparent. A number of review studies have summarized and classified barriers, mainly in urban settings. PHUSICOS is a Horizon 2020 Innovation Action to demonstrate the use of NBS in rural and mountain landscapes. Large-scale demonstrator case sites with several sub-projects are established in Italy, Norway and in the French and Spanish Pyrenees. The present paper describes the project’s NBS measures and their experienced barriers, some of which have resulted in full cancellation of the planned interventions. Many of the barriers experienced in rural settings have the same root causes as the ones described from urban areas, and the main barrier-creating mechanisms are institutional factors, resistance among stakeholders and technical and economic issues. The key element, however, is the lack of knowledge about the ability of NBS to deliver a series of co-benefits in addition to their risk-reducing effects and that long-term thinking is required to see the effect of many of these co-benefits.

Impacts in the form of innovation and commercialization are essential components of publicly funded research projects. PHUSICOS ("According to nature" in Greek), an EU Horizon 2020 program (H2020) Innovation Action project, aims to demonstrate the use of nature-based solutions (NBS) to mitigate hydrometeorological hazards in rural and mountainous areas. The work program is built around key innovation actions, and each Work Package (WP) leader is specifically responsible for nurturing innovation processes, maintaining market focus, and ensuring relevance for the intended recipients of the project results. Key success criteria for PHUSICOS include up-scaling and mainstream implementation of NBS to achieve broader market access. An innovation strategy and supporting tools for implementing this within PHUSICOS has been developed and key concepts forming the basis for this strategy are presented in this research note.

Logging data are measurements of physical properties of the formation surrounding a borehole, acquired in situ after completion of coring (wireline logging) or during drilling (Logging-While-Drilling, LWD). The range of data (resistivity, gamma radiation, velocity, density, borehole images,…) in any hole depends on the scientific objectives and operational constraints.

Logging data are measurements of physical properties of the formation surrounding a borehole, acquired in situ after completion of coring (wireline logging) or during drilling (Logging-While-Drilling, LWD). The range of data (resistivity, gamma radiation, velocity, density, borehole images,…) in any hole depends on the scientific objectives and operational constraints.