Mobilizing Capital for Natural Infrastructure in Canada: A guide for project champions and funders

This guide provides a framework for project champions and funders to mobilize capital for large-scale natural infrastructure in Canada. It argues that successful projects are driven by time-sensitive forcing events rather than general valuation studies, and it outlines a five-step process for developers to move from identifying drivers to securing predevelopment funding.

• Large-scale natural infrastructure projects are typically triggered by time-sensitive forcing events—such as environmental mandates, natural disasters, or financial losses—rather than general evidence of ecosystem value. The report notes that it is easier to persuade a beneficiary to adopt a natural alternative if they are already forced to allocate resources to solve a problem, such as financing a new water treatment plant.
• Mobilizing capital for natural infrastructure is hindered by five primary barriers: chronic underfunding of general infrastructure, the exclusion of ecosystem services from capital budgets, a lack of standardized performance metrics, a political preference for visible new projects over preventive measures, and the difficulty of parsing diffuse co-benefits to create a clear business case.
• The report proposes a five-step roadmap for project champions to move from concept to implementation: 1) Start with a driver (e.g., policy goals or disaster risks); 2) Identify a lead beneficiary or implementer with the authority to act; 3) Develop a pitch based on preliminary analysis; 4) Establish partnerships with necessary skill sets; and 5) Secure catalyst and predevelopment funding.
• Project development requires five distinct 'colours of money' in sequence: catalyst funds (framing options), predevelopment support (feasibility), planning and design funds (engineering and permitting), construction funds (implementation), and O&M resources (long-term maintenance). Construction funds are the most available, while catalyst and predevelopment funds are the most critical gaps.
• Funders and green investors can accelerate natural infrastructure by moving beyond simply creating new funds. Recommended actions include funding targeted research to create quantitative performance metrics, convening diffuse beneficiaries to align incentives, adjusting funding thresholds to accommodate the typically lower costs of natural projects compared to grey infrastructure, and providing dedicated predevelopment support.
• In Canada, natural infrastructure projects face specific barriers in accessing federal funds, such as the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund, because the CAD 20 million minimum project cost often exceeds the actual cost of implementing nature-based solutions.

APA

Vajjhala, S., & Roy, D. (2020). Mobilizing Capital for Natural Infrastructure in Canada: A guide for project champions and funders. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-12/mobilizing-capital-natural-infrastructure-canada.pdf

Chicago

Vajjhala, Shalini, and Dimple Roy. Mobilizing Capital for Natural Infrastructure in Canada: A guide for project champions and funders. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2020. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-12/mobilizing-capital-natural-infrastructure-canada.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Vajjhala |first1=Shalini |last2=Roy |first2=Dimple |title=Mobilizing Capital for Natural Infrastructure in Canada: A guide for project champions and funders |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=November 2020 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-12/mobilizing-capital-natural-infrastructure-canada.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{vajjhala2020mobilizing, author = {Vajjhala, Shalini and Roy, Dimple}, title = {{Mobilizing Capital for Natural Infrastructure in Canada: A guide for project champions and funders}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2020}, month = nov, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-12/mobilizing-capital-natural-infrastructure-canada.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }