We are the Natural Assets Initiative

We’re not re-branding!

…But we are changing our name to better reflect all that we do and all those we work with. As of April 5, 2023, we are dropping the word “municipal” from our name and will be known as the Natural Assets Initiative.

Why? 

There are three main reasons.

Firstly, natural asset management is not just about municipalities, it is about all of us.  Nature isn’t organized the way we are, and doesn’t really care who has jurisdiction over what.  Local governments, First Nations, Conservation Authorities, watershed agencies, ports, airports, other rights holders and partners must all work together to achieve results at scales that are meaningful to nature — specifically, across entire watersheds.  We’ve already been working with many of these partners over the years, and are now simply making the name reflect reality.

Secondly, through further work and collaboration with First Nations partners, they have expressed that they find the term “municipal” off-putting, exclusive, and/or unduly colonial.  We’re committed to helping natural asset management evolve to uphold UNDRIP, and part of that is removing any suggestion in our name that we want to do anything other than work collaboratively with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis.

Thirdly, let’s face it: MNAI was a terrible acronym, and no one could say it right.  On a good day, people called it “MNIA” but often as not folks simply stumbled, including all of us.  “NAI” is admittedly not the flashiest name ever, but hey, we’re not re-branding.