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Draft:Municipal Natural Assets Initiative

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  • Comment: Notability requires WP:GNG-worthy reliable source coverage about the organization in media independent of itself. But this is referenced almost entirely to content self-published by directly affiliated organizations that are not GNG-worthy media outlets -- the only citation to a real media outlet is just verifying a stray fact without mentioning this organization at all in the process, which means it does not help to establish the notability of this organization either.
    Again, we require media coverage which has this organization itself as its subject, not content self-published by organizations or governments that are directly involved in the project. Bearcat (talk) 13:13, 27 April 2023 (UTC)

The Municipal Natural Assets Initiative (MNAI) is a Canadian non-profit organization that advances and promotes the practice of natural asset management in order to develop environmentally sustainable, cost-effective, and climate-resilient public service delivery.[1] MNAI provides technical consultant expertise to support local governments and others in identifying, valuing, and accounting for natural assets (see natural capital) in their financial planning and infrastructure asset management programs.[2]

Headquartered in Victoria, British Columbia, MNAI’s website states they work with local governments across Canada.[3] They also conduct projects with other government agencies, watershed agencies, industry and professional associations, and other non-profit organizations.[4][5]

Overview[edit]

The Municipal Natural Assets Initiative was established in 2016 to further develop an approach known as "natural asset management", which began as a project between the David Suzuki Foundation and[6] the Town of Gibsons, British Columbia [7] MNAI has since worked with over 90 local governments in various provinces across Canada, according to an article in CBA National Magazine. [8]

MNAI's focus is on providing alternative infrastructure strategies; approximately 60% of Canada’s infrastructure is owned by local governments.[9][10] Extreme weather caused by climate change could put additional strain on Canada's public infrastructure as high winds and floods cause costly damage.[11]

The organization primarily works with local governments to inventory natural assets by calculating the amount of ecosystem services they provide.[12] This in turn provides the municipality with economic and social impact data that can be considered when deciding on land use activities. For example, a 2020 study completed by MNAI estimated the service value of Oshawa Creek and surrounding areas to be around $400 million, based on the cost of engineered replacements to provide the same services. The practice has reportedly been gaining in popularity, both in Canada and abroad.[13]

A report prepared for the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) supports the use of natural infrastructure for mitigating climate change-related issues such as coastal erosion and flooding.[14]

Natural Assets[edit]

The Globe and Mail[15] defines natural assets as:

"Natural assets, also known as ecoassets, refers to the stock of natural resources and ecosystems that provide a multitude of goods and services to governments and their populations. They include wetlands, rivers, lakes, forests, fields, coastal marshes, dunes and soils."

— Kathryn Blaze Baum (2021)

The term encompasses a sub sector of green infrastructure; other categories include enhanced assets like stormwater management ponds and grey infrastructure assets.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Municipal Natural Assets Initiative recognized by Real Estate Foundation of BC". Coast Reporter. 2018-10-22. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  2. ^ "Wetlands, forests can help cities save millions in climate adaptation costs: study". Comox Valley Record. March 1, 2020.
  3. ^ Municipal Natural Assets Initiative. ""Homepage"". mnai.ca. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  4. ^ Simran Chattha (September 10, 2021). "Natural assets guidelines now available for engineers and geoscientists". Water Canada.
  5. ^ Al-Hakim, Aya (October 9, 2022). "Should nature have financial value in Canada's accounting system? What experts say". Global News.
  6. ^ Town of Gibsons (18 January 2018). ""Gibsons' Natural Asset Management Journey"". Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  7. ^ Mitchell, Alanna (May 18, 2021). "'The Beachcombers' town is now famous for fighting climate change". broadview.org.
  8. ^ "The value of our natural assets". www.nationalmagazine.ca. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  9. ^ "The Canada Community-Building Fund". Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  10. ^ "Could natural asset accounting become the wave of the future? | CPA Canada". www.cpacanada.ca. 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  11. ^ Segal, Molly (November 12, 2022). "Putting a price on nature can help municipalities adapt to climate change". CBC Radio. CBC.
  12. ^ Chandler, Justin (December 20, 2022). "The Grindstone Creek watershed provides $2 billion in services. How?". www.tvo.org. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  13. ^ Insite (February 22, 2023). "Natural Asset Management Catching on in Canada".
  14. ^ ICF International (June 2018). "Best Practices and Resources on Climate Resilient Natural Infrastructure" (PDF). Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment.
  15. ^ "Is it time to make 'natural capital' an asset class?". The Globe and Mail. 2021-12-10. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
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