Investing in “natural assets” or “natural infrastructure” to help us deal with advancing climate change is starting to be considered more seriously and more widely by governments (and others) in Canada (e.g., Integrating Natural Assets with Asset Management, The Maritime Natural Infrastructure Collaborative), and elsewhere (Engineering with Nature, Naturvation).
Natural assets (natural infrastructure works) are defined by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) as “the use of preserved, restored or enhanced elements or combinations of vegetation and associated biology, land, water and naturally occurring ecological processes to meet targeted infrastructure outcomes”.
Natural assets can be considered the “most natural” on the continuum of infrastructure solutions (see the graphic by Green Infrastructure Ontario) being explored to help address the challenges of urbanization being exacerbated by climate change. Some examples nature being “used to meet targeted outcomes” include:
- Meadows created/protected/managed because they provide pollinator habitat
- Wetlands and riparian areas near rivers created/protected/managed to help attenuate water and reduce erosion during storm events, and
- Forests created/protected/managed in cities to help moderate air temperatures and improve air quality during the heat of the summer.
While assets are typically considered “things” of value, it makes sense that natural assets are defined by CCME as an action. Nature (even when we ignore it) is always part of our world, evolving in small and big ways in response to many factors, most barely understood by humans. Now that catastrophe is upon us, there is finally movement towards recognizing and accounting for nature’s value in terms of the critical ways in which it sustains us. It may not save us from ourselves but it is a start.