Mainstreaming Natural Asset Management

The challenges of aging infrastructure, climate change, biodiversity loss and high level of service requirements, coupled with the declining rate of re-investment on infrastructure and high renewal and replacement costs, require civil infrastructure to be managed efficiently and sustainably. Integrating nature and the services it provides into infrastructure considerations is an innovative approach to develop long-term sustainable infrastructure systems that addresses the issues facing communities today. The Natural Assets Initiative (NAI) team provides scientific, economic and municipal expertise to support and guide local governments in identifying, valuing and accounting for natural assets in their financial planning and asset management programs, and in developing leading-edge, sustainable and climate resilient infrastructure. To date NAI has worked with over 120 communities across Canada on a range of projects. This presentation will speak to rapidly advancing practices in natural asset management, including a new standard for natural asset inventories, as well as accounting frameworks to accelerate more abundant, equitable, and thriving natural assets.