Building coastal resilience globally through the Global Green-Gray Community of Practice

The Global Green-Gray Community of Practice (G3CoP) is a task force for transformation — a collective of designers, engineers, policymakers, storytellers, funders, and communities working together to radically accelerate nature-integrated infrastructure. Led by Conservation International, G3CoP connects ecosystems and traditional engineering to build the next generation of climate-resilient, regenerative infrastructure worldwide.

Problem
We urgently need to build new infrastructure to protect communities and territories from escalating climate hazards — but if we keep doing it the old way, we’ll just make things worse. Current commercial infrastructure practices are a big part of the ecological problem we have today. They’re also usually designed for short-term performance, not long-term resilience, leaving communities exposed or bound to an endless cycle of expensive rebuilds and repairs. Nature-based solutions (NbS) and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) offer powerful alternatives. But let’s be clear: ecosystems today are often too damaged, especially in urban areas, to be the only line of defense. Restoration is essential — and underway — but it takes time. Meanwhile, people and territories need protection now. We need to design infrastructure that protects lives and livelihoods while helping nature heal — infrastructure that works with natural systems, not against them. This means designing with nature in a radical and precise way, treating the integrity of ecosystems as a starting point alongside human safety. Green-gray infrastructure (GGI) embodies this mindset. It is an approach that blends natural ecosystems with built structures, combining the resiliency and other ecosystemic services provided by nature with engineered reinforcements. By weaving together “green” elements like wetlands, forests, or reefs with “gray” elements like structural frames, drainage systems, or barriers, GGI creates hybrid systems that are more adaptable, costeffective, and regenerative. Unfortunately, GGI remains vastly underused due to five major barriers:
• Lack of technical training and tools for practitioners
• Low awareness and familiarity among decision-makers
• Policy frameworks that barely recognize GGI
• Financing mechanisms that don’t fit hybrid approaches
• An ingrained cultural bias favoring traditional, concrete-based solutions

The Green-Gray Community of Practice (G3CoP) exists to break down these barriers and unlock a regenerative, resilient future.

Solution and Approach
G3CoP is catalyzing a global shift by building a multidisciplinary community that brings together people committed to making building with nature mainstream and scaling it up to meet the urgency of our times. We are a community of practice formed by engineers, ecologists, policymakers, urban designers, financiers, activists, and communities. This growing hub is designed to foster collaboration across sectors, ensuring that green-gray infrastructure (GGI) solutions are not developed in isolation but with the full spectrum of knowledge and experience needed to make them thrive. Through this network, G3CoP is expanding the technical knowledge and capacities for GGI deployment by creating practical guidelines, developing engineering standards, documenting case studies, and building tools that help practitioners move from theory to practice. This knowledge base is critical for increasing the skills needed to design GGI systems with confidence. G3CoP also works to create a regulatory and financial landscape where nature-integrated infrastructure is not only possible but a priority. We produce guidance to integrate GGI into existing policy frameworks, like national and subnational climate plans, urban development strategies, and infrastructure standards, while at the same time addressing the need for funding mechanisms that make these policies feasible in practice. Finally, G3CoP invests in making GGI systems visible and aspirational, by showcasing successful initiatives and promoting knowledge exchange. Through the creation of a dynamic project hub, regular webinars, hands-on workshops, and presence in global events, it is building the momentum needed to mainstream GGI and accelerate real-world change.