Municipal Natural Assets Initiative

Helping municipalities count nature.

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Invest in Nature

The Municipal Natural Assets Initiative (MNAI) is changing the way municipalities deliver everyday services, increasing the quality and resilience of infrastructure at lower costs and reduced risk.

The MNAI 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 developing leading-edge, sustainable and climate resilient infrastructure.

MNAI teams up with municipalities to develop resilient, long-term infrastructure alternatives at substantial savings. MNAI employs practical strategies to value nature’s ability to provide municipal services and to incorporate this information into mainstream asset management systems. With increasing ease in measuring and valuing natural assets the MNAI approach is straightforward and transferable.

Why MNAI?

Could a low-cost, sustainable infrastructure solution be all around us?
Could a forest provide water purification services?
Could wetlands offer stormwater management services?

For a growing number of leading edge governments, the answer is yes.
The Municipal Natural Assets Initiative is helping Canadian
municipalities to seize this potential.

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News and Developments

lush creek

Nature: is it worth it? Walking a fine line.

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Cranbrook, BC from the water

Toward natural asset management in Kootenays

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Making Nature Count

Natural assets reduce service delivery costs

Managing areas such as aquifers, forests, and wetlands reduces service delivery costs and improves engineered assets efficiency.

Natural assets have a perpetual life span

Engineered assets must be replaced after their lifespan ends. Some natural assets, on the other hand, can provide services in perpetuity. They can become more valuable over time with effective monitoring, maintenance and restoration.

Natural assets support climate change adaptation

Some natural assets are resilient and can meet increased service delivery requirements under predicted climate change scenarios, meaning that their value can grow over time.

In communities across Canada

MNAI has worked with nearly 100 communities to explore nature’s ability to provide municipal services as a long-term, cost-effective and climate-resilient solution to aging infrastructure.

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Get in touch

We are happy to provide you with more information or answer any questions you may have. Let us help you make nature count.

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