It was great to reconnect with some of my favourite Ecologists (Terrastory, Conservation Halton), make some new connections and hear about what others are doing in the fields of restoration economics (Aisling O’Shae of the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game (DFG) In-Lieu Fee (ILF) Program, Sawoop Sandhu of Dr. Dreshcer’s lab at the Waterloo Climate Institute, Christopher Streb of Biohabitats, and Benoit Limoges of Viridis Terra International) the week of June 11 at the RE3 2023 conference in Québec City.
Key takeaways for me included:
- More needs to be done to help Canadian municipalities (a) formally recognize the value and benefits of the natural assets in their jurisidictions (i.e., by integrating them into their asset management systems), and (b) invest in the effective protection, enhancement and restoration of these assets so that they can help communities adapt to and mitigate climate change.
- Meaningful movement forward will require (a) a fundamental change in the way governments and communities relate to and value nature, (b) muti-disciplinary collaboration, and (c) public-private sector partnerships built to be sustained over decades.
- Meaningful movement forward will also require us to understand and acknowledge that nature-based solutions “are rooted in Indigenous traditional knowledge as well as local knowledge and can be incorporated into the design of sustainability science and conservation planning to reduce risks and prepare for an uncertain future” (Natural Infrastructure Framework: Key Concepts, Definitions and Terms, Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, 2021).
- Natural asset planners and managers, and their partners, need to be engaging those knowledgeable about local habitats and ecosystems to effectively sustain and expand this critical asset base on which we all rely.
It was also great to soak in some of the spectacular habitats around La Malbaie, Saint-Simon and Baie-Sainte-Catherine… Merci tous!
