Soil and Water BioEngineering: A Stakeholder’s Perspective

Historically, environmental challenges related to hydrogeological hazards have been addressed using plants and locally available materials, such as timber and stone. These practices have been rediscovered and incorporated into the Soil and Water BioEngineering (SWBE) definition. As in the past, they defined land management as the mitigation of the occurrence and propagation of hydrogeological hazards, guided by practical experience and necessity. This study evaluated the practitioners’ current knowledge and perception, like agronomists, foresters, engineers, geologists, architects, and naturalists, regarding practices defined as SWBE in recent legislation and scientific literature. A questionnaire was distributed through various communication channels to achieve this goal, primarily focusing on professional associations. The questionnaire consisted of three sections: i) the biographical collection of data from stakeholders, ii) the evaluation of their comprehension of fundamental concepts and interpretation of SWBE and Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) techniques, and iii) the exploration of critical issues, potential enhancements, and prospects for implementing SWBE. This study proposes a framework for comprehending the perception of SWBE and NBS and enhancing the interaction between technical application and theoretical development. The analysis considers the similarities and differences between the state of the art, existing practices, and stakeholder perspectives. This process helps to identify eventually gaps and discover new frontiers of innovation within the field of SWBE.