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Interested in coastal natural infrastructure? Take our survey!

The Municipal Natural Assets Initiative is expanding the types of services addressed in our work with local governments. Thus far, we’ve focused exclusively on stormwater-related services provided by natural assets (such as wetlands, forests and meadows) and we are now considering the role of shoreline and nearshore natural infrastructure (such as coastal vegetation, eelgrass beds, kelp forests, beaches and dunes) in lessening storm surge and coastal erosion. We’re looking for your input to help ensure our coastal model is answering the right set of questions, using data that are accessible to local governments. We’ve prepared a short survey, which should take 20 minutes, and would greatly appreciate your participation.

There is a growing body of evidence that natural coastal systems suffer less damage during extreme weather events and bounce back quicker. The team at MNAI is working to model the effectiveness of these systems and convert the results into financial and asset management processes. Based upon your input from this survey, we’ll be refining our coastal model, developing guidance material and reaching out to a few communities to pilot the approach.

The stormwater-related work we’ve already completed over the last several years with communities across British Columbia, Ontario and New Brunswick have helped us understand and quantify the role nature provides in supplying and storing water, filtering drinking water, protecting communities from inland flooding, and reducing erosion – today and into the future. These communities have realized they have cost-effective, sustainable and climate-resilient infrastructure in their back yards. Now, with the coastal modeling work, communities could soon realize their shorelines also offer more than just a pretty view.

Please take a moment to provide your input by Tuesday, September 3rd, 2019.

Thank you from the MNAI team!


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