Advancing Natural Infrastructure in Canada

The report outlines the value of natural infrastructure (NI) in Canada for climate adaptation, specifically for flood and drought mitigation. It identifies significant barriers in federal funding programs, such as the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) and the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF), including high funding thresholds and restrictions on private land eligibility. The document explores innovative financing mechanisms like green bonds and insurance-linked resilience bonds, while emphasizing the need for natural asset accounting in public sector financial statements to incentivize municipal protection of NI.

• Insurance costs associated with extreme weather events in Canada are rising rapidly, with average property and casualty insurance costs increasing from CAD 405 million annually (1983–2008) to CAD 1.8 billion (2009–2017).
• Federal funding programs for infrastructure have practical barriers that hinder the adoption of NI. The Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) excludes private land-owners as eligible recipients and does not fund ongoing operating costs for maintenance. The Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF) has a minimum threshold of CAD 20 million, which excludes smaller, high-impact NI projects.
• Natural infrastructure can be a cost-effective alternative or complement to built infrastructure. In Gibsons, British Columbia, naturally occurring ponds provided the same services as a grey infrastructure alternative that would have cost between CAD 3.5 million and 4 million during a 100-year storm event.
• The Government of Ontario has utilized green bonds to finance government-led projects, issuing four bonds totaling CAD 3.05 billion. While these have focused on energy efficiency and clean transportation, the framework allows for flood protection and sustainable forest management.
• Resilience bonds differ from catastrophe bonds by incorporating capital investments in resilient infrastructure to lower expected losses. This reduction in risk can lead to a 'resilience rebate' in the form of reduced premiums for bond sponsors, which can then fund further NI projects.
• A significant barrier to NI implementation is the lack of official recognition of natural assets in the Canadian public sector accounting framework, which prevents municipalities from including these assets on balance sheets.
• The Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) tool is used to build business cases for NI by quantifying environmental, social, and economic risks and externalities over time, helping investors and governments assess value for money.
• Implementation of NI is often limited by land ownership issues, as farmers and ranchers hold the majority of private land in southern Canada, yet private land projects are frequently ineligible for infrastructure funding.

APA

Stanley, M., Puzyreva, M., & Roy, D. (2019). Advancing Natural Infrastructure in Canada. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/advancing-natural-infrastructure-canada.pdf

Chicago

Stanley, Madeline, Marina Puzyreva, and Dimple Roy. Advancing Natural Infrastructure in Canada. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2019. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/advancing-natural-infrastructure-canada.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Stanley |first1=Madeline |last2=Puzyreva |first2=Marina |last3=Roy |first3=Dimple |title=Advancing Natural Infrastructure in Canada |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=February 2019 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/advancing-natural-infrastructure-canada.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stanley2019advancing, author = {Stanley, Madeline and Puzyreva, Marina and Roy, Dimple}, title = {{Advancing Natural Infrastructure in Canada}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2019}, month = feb, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/advancing-natural-infrastructure-canada.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }