Nature-Based Solutions for Hydropower Infrastructure Risk Mitigation

Hydropower resilience starts with the wider catchment and landscape in which assets operate. In Chile, NTT DATA supported an energy company in turning natural-capital and ecosystem-service evidence into a structured basis for conservation, restoration and territorial management decisions across hydropower territories.
Mountain watershed, forest and river system surrounding hydropower infrastructure, representing a portfolio-wide approach to natural capital and ecosystem-service management.
Territorial scope
45,224 hectares documented
Geographic coverage
Four regions documented
Ecosystem-service assessment
Ecosystem services identified, prioritised and valued
Environmental-liability assessment
Environmental liabilities assessed as part of the natural-capital review
Cross-section of a vegetated riverbank showing roots, soil and sediment interacting with water near hydropower infrastructure, representing nature-based risk mitigation.
Nature-Based Solutions for Hydropower Infrastructure Risk Mitigation

Erosion, land-use change, vegetation condition and degradation of ecosystem services can affect water regulation, sediment dynamics, territorial risk and relationships with local communities. NTT DATA assessed ecosystem services across a large portfolio of natural assets associated with hydropower operations, created a natural-capital inventory and reviewed environmental liabilities. The work also analysed the value that ecosystem services contribute to the company, society and indigenous communities, then translated the evidence into a sustainable management proposal and a standardised methodology for natural-capital valuation.

Turning ecosystem value into a repeatable management framework
目的
The objective was to identify, prioritise and value ecosystem services across territories linked to hydropower operations, while making environmental liabilities and natural-asset dependencies visible for management. The programme also sought to establish a standardised and replicable method that could support future choices on conservation, restoration and investment without reducing ecological, social and corporate value to a single metric.
機会
The work created a basis for applying natural-capital evidence consistently across hydropower territories. The same approach can help compare properties, identify where conservation or restoration is most relevant and connect ecosystem-service value with territorial and infrastructure-management priorities. Climate-resilience extensions would need to be designed for the specific hazard, asset and client context.
Making ecosystem value usable across a diverse hydropower portfolio

The programme had to bring different ecosystem services, environmental liabilities and stakeholder perspectives into a consistent decision framework across a geographically varied portfolio. The challenge was to preserve the distinct forms of ecological and social value while producing information that could guide practical management choices.

主な課題
Natural samples of water, soil, vegetation and habitat arranged within a shared assessment system, representing a common framework for distinct ecosystem services.
1. A common language for ecosystem services
Different ecosystem services had to be represented within one decision framework without collapsing them into a single environmental measure.
Contrasting natural territories arranged within one consistent visual framework, representing a repeatable assessment method across a geographically diverse hydropower portfolio.
2. A heterogeneous territorial portfolio
The assessment covered a large and geographically diverse set of natural assets, requiring a method that could be applied consistently across territories.
Environmental planning table combining territorial maps, field evidence and restoration references to support conservation, restoration and infrastructure-management decisions.
3. From ecological evidence to management choices
Natural-capital value and environmental liabilities needed to be translated into information relevant to conservation, restoration and infrastructure-management decisions.
Territorial planning model combining natural assets, community spaces and infrastructure references, representing value to the company, society and local communities within one management perspective.
4. Multiple forms of value
The analysis had to consider value to the company, society and indigenous and local communities within the same management view.
解決策
An integrated solution designed for scalable execution

NTT DATA structured the work around natural-capital inventory, ecosystem-service identification, prioritisation and valuation. This produced a management view of the properties and their environmental, social and corporate value. The programme considered carbon sequestration potential and environmental co-benefits and framed management options using nature-based-solutions principles, including alignment with the IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions. A standardised methodology improved accountability and comparability across territories, creating a reusable basis for deciding where conservation or restoration could support broader hydropower and catchment objectives.

チェックアイコン
NTT DATA structured the work around natural-capital inventory

NTT DATA structured the work around natural-capital inventory, ecosystem-service identification, prioritisation and valuation.

チェックアイコン
This produced a management view of the properties

This produced a management view of the properties and their environmental, social and corporate value.

チェックアイコン
The programme considered carbon sequestration potential and environmental

The programme considered carbon sequestration potential and environmental co-benefits and framed management options using nature-based-solutions principles, including alignment with the IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions.

チェックアイコン
A standardised methodology improved accountability and comparability across

A standardised methodology improved accountability and comparability across territories, creating a reusable basis for dec

影響
The documented scope covers 45,224 hectares across four regions.

The documented scope covers 45,224 hectares across four regions. These figures demonstrate portfolio scale, not a percentage improvement in resilience. The main outcome is a repeatable natural-capital and ecosystem-services management framework; the reviewed source does not state measured reductions in erosion, flood impact or infrastructure failures.

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