Draft:Municipal Natural Assets Initiative

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. 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.

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

Overview
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 the Town of Gibsons, British Columbia MNAI has since worked with over 90 local governments in various provinces across Canada, according to an article in CBA National Magazine.

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

The organization primarily works with local governments to inventory natural assets by calculating the amount of ecosystem services they provide. 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.

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.

Natural Assets
The Globe and Mail 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.'"

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