A Scan of Natural Infrastructure Approaches

The report highlights 'bright spots' in Canada where local governments are integrating natural infrastructure—such as wetlands, trees, and rain gardens—to complement traditional grey infrastructure for services like stormwater management and flood protection. It examines the City of Nelson's use of bylaws, Halifax Regional Municipality's policy embedding, and EPCOR's integrated investment strategy in Edmonton.

• Natural infrastructure, including rain gardens, grasslands, and wetlands, is used to complement traditional grey infrastructure to maintain municipal services like drinking water and wastewater treatment, which are increasingly strained by climate change.
• The City of Nelson, British Columbia, utilizes strong bylaws to implement natural infrastructure; specifically, the Subdivision and Development Servicing Bylaw promotes constructed wetlands, bioretention swales, and rain gardens for stormwater management, while a Municipal Tree Bylaw protects existing trees.
• The Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia integrates natural infrastructure into its Regional Plan and the HalifACT climate change plan. This policy framework enabled the use of the federal Natural Infrastructure Fund to restore 555 metres of cobble beach with native vegetation and a breakwater to combat erosion and road washouts.
• EPCOR in Edmonton, Alberta, has adopted an integrated stormwater management approach, allocating approximately 59% of a CAD 1.6 billion 30-year investment to natural infrastructure. This approach is more cost-effective than a previous grey-infrastructure-only plan estimated to cost between CAD 2.2 billion and CAD 4.6 billion over 80 years.

APA

Rawluk, A., & Méthot, J. (2024). A Scan of Natural Infrastructure Approaches. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-05/natural-infrastructure-approaches-summary.pdf

Chicago

Rawluk, Ashley, and Josée Méthot. A Scan of Natural Infrastructure Approaches. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2024. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-05/natural-infrastructure-approaches-summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rawluk |first1=Ashley |last2=Méthot |first2=Josée |title=A Scan of Natural Infrastructure Approaches |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=April 2024 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-05/natural-infrastructure-approaches-summary.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rawluk2024scan, author = {Rawluk, Ashley and Méthot, Josée}, title = {{A Scan of Natural Infrastructure Approaches}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2024}, month = apr, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-05/natural-infrastructure-approaches-summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }