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The report details a national survey of 2,219 Canadians showing strong public demand for urgent government action on water infrastructure, with 72.5% viewing it as an urgent priority. While awareness of the term 'natural infrastructure' is low (47% have not heard it), there is high support (71.1%) for its implementation as a cost-effective alternative or supplement to grey infrastructure. The findings highlight significant regional disparities, such as high rates of water main breaks in the Prairies and seasonal shortages in British Columbia, and underscore a persistent infrastructure gap for Indigenous communities who experience disproportionately higher rates of boil-water advisories and water shortages.

The inventory identifies a diverse range of NbS in Uganda, primarily focused on wetland and catchment restoration, forest management, and agroforestry. These interventions address coupled challenges of food insecurity, water stress, and disaster risk. Key projects include the GCF FP034 wetland restoration and the CAPA Initiative in the Greater Virunga Landscape. While social inclusion is present, it is unevenly documented across the portfolio.

The ESMP for the Jigme Kheser Strict Nature Reserve (JKSNR) outlines mitigation strategies for two primary activities planned for 2026: alpine grassland management in Lolithang and river embankment work at the JKSNR Head Office. Categorized as a Category B project, the BFL initiative aims to enhance climate resilience and biodiversity conservation in Bhutan. The plan details environmental risks such as forest fires and construction waste, social risks regarding worker health and safety, and the required mitigation measures, including the use of safety gear and waste disposal at the Anaphu landfill. It also defines stakeholder engagement, grievance redressal mechanisms, and monitoring arrangements to ensure compliance with both Royal Government of Bhutan laws and WWF safeguard policies.

The report evaluates 17 types of natural infrastructure across four functional families (cover, basins, watercourses, and groundwater) to support water management in the Canadian Prairies. It argues that while natural assets like grasslands and wetlands are essential, constructed analogues such as bioretention and green roofs are necessary in urban areas to bridge the infrastructure gap. The document provides performance rankings and technical data to help decision-makers build a more robust business case for nature-based solutions over traditional grey infrastructure.

The document argues that natural infrastructure—comprising eight natural assets and nine constructed assets—is essential for bridging the water-related infrastructure gap in the Canadian Prairies. It details how these assets support flood mitigation, water supply, drought mitigation, and water quality, often complementing existing 'grey' infrastructure to enhance resilience against climate-driven extreme weather events.

The report details a spatial targeting strategy for phosphorus reduction in the Canadian Prairies, using the Swan Lake study area as a pilot. It integrates the PTMApp model with HEC-HMS and HEC-RAS to account for regional hydrological specifics, such as spring runoff and non-contributing areas. Key findings highlight that default PTMApp settings may overestimate BMP efficiency during spring runoff and that high-quality land-use data is critical to avoid significant errors in nutrient load estimates. The report also discusses the practical application of these models for government and First Nations stakeholders, emphasizing the value of local knowledge and the need for compensation programs to encourage BMP adoption on high-value cropland.

The document outlines the climate risks facing border cities like Tijuana, Nogales, and El Paso, where aging infrastructure and fragmented US-Mexico coordination exacerbate the impact of floods and heatwaves. It highlights how these pressures disproportionately affect migrants, low-income residents, and indigenous groups, while suggesting key areas for journalistic investigation into funding gaps and resilience efforts.

The report evaluates the revitalization of Sherwan Hill Adventure Park in Abbottabad, Pakistan, as part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cities Improvement Project. Using the Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) methodology, the analysis compares a nature-based infrastructure scenario—including reforestation and expanded green areas—against a business-as-usual scenario. The findings indicate that the project provides a significant return on investment, with every USD 1 spent yielding USD 2.49 in benefits over 30 years, totaling PKR 1.8 billion in avoided costs and gains across health, employment, property values, and climate resilience.

The report examines how urban green space access is often socially determined by income, gender, and age, particularly in rapidly growing cities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It highlights that lower-income communities often prioritize provisioning services—such as food and fuel—over the aesthetic or health-related benefits typically emphasized in high-income contexts. The authors argue that top-down planning frequently fails these populations and can lead to gentrification or social opposition. Using a case study from the Nakuru River area in Kenya, the report identifies systemic barriers to community-led management, including unclear governmental responsibilities, funding shortfalls, and the influence of external NGOs. It concludes that equitable urban greening requires integrating infrastructure improvements and employment opportunities with participatory design that includes women, youth, and people with disabilities.

The Rodrigo Bueno neighborhood in Buenos Aires transitioned from an informal settlement facing high climatic risks and eviction threats to a resilient community through a collaborative strategy initiated in 2016. The Buenos Aires Housing Institute utilized a 'Territorial Team' to build trust with residents over eight years, leading to the formal recognition of land ownership in 2017 and the construction of 611 energy-efficient housing units with solar-powered water heating. Climate resilience efforts included canal remediation with a stormwater control system and a retaining wall to mitigate flooding. Additionally, the project fostered economic opportunities, such as the La Vivera Organica plant nursery founded in 2019, which provides local produce and connects the community to the broader city.

WRI Indonesia's Cities4Forests initiative helped Jakarta implement two new regulations in 2021 regarding tree management and park provision. This collaboration led to the creation of 54 new urban parks since 2022 and the planting of over 65,000 urban trees, specifically targeting underserved areas to mitigate air pollution, extreme heat, and flooding.

The document outlines the importance of monitoring water retention projects in the Prairies to ensure they meet specifications and to track long-term performance. It emphasizes that monitoring water quantity and quality helps optimize sites for climate adaptation and multiple benefits, including flood mitigation, drought resilience, water quality, biodiversity, and carbon storage. The guide aims to demystify the technical requirements of monitoring by reviewing equipment and analysis methods based on IISD's experience.

The document outlines a framework for monitoring water retention projects in the Prairies, emphasizing the need for water and contaminant mass balances to evaluate performance. It details a range of monitoring tools—from low-cost metre sticks to expensive automated samplers—and explains how to use rating curves to estimate discharge. The guide highlights the importance of high-frequency data to capture rapid hydrologic events and suggests using monitoring data to develop hydraulic and water-quality treatment models for improving future site design and management.

The report details how climate change threatens the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) through sea level rise, intense storms, and extreme heat. It provides specific projections for sea level rise in New Jersey and New York City, notes the increasing frequency of 'nuisance flooding' at The Battery, and highlights the vulnerability of critical assets like LaGuardia Airport's Runway 13/31. The document quantifies historical damages, such as the billions lost during Superstorm Sandy, and lists a comprehensive set of potential adaptation costs, including flood-proofing buildings, elevating infrastructure, and mitigating heat-induced rail and road degradation.

The document advocates for a holistic 'biodiversity lens' in agriculture, emphasizing the role of soil health, indigenous plant restoration, and regenerative farming in the Western Cape's Fynbos Biome. It details the differences between rehabilitation and restoration, provides plant palettes for various farm areas, and presents case studies on using livestock for soil health, creating wildlife corridors, and managing riverine buffers to mitigate flood damage.

The report evaluates the restoration of the Mallorquín Swamp in Barranquilla, Colombia, using a sustainable asset valuation (SAVi) approach. It finds that nature-based infrastructure (NBI) provides greater societal value and better climate adaptation benefits at a lower cost than grey infrastructure alternatives, particularly when combined with investments in ecotourism.

The executive summary advocates for a shift from traditional 'grey' water infrastructure to natural infrastructure in the Canadian Prairies to combat climate vulnerabilities and infrastructure deterioration. It highlights the region's significant loss of wetlands and the need for policy and funding reforms to support nature-based solutions.

The report finds that while natural infrastructure (NI) efforts in the Canadian Prairies are nascent and often fragmented as site-specific pilots, there is growing momentum to use conserved, restored, or engineered ecosystems to meet water infrastructure needs. Grey infrastructure remains the default choice due to a lack of standardized valuation tools, limited municipal capacity, and a policy environment that often prioritizes resource development over restoration. The document highlights the critical need for watershed-scale collaboration, the integration of Indigenous knowledge and rights, and the mobilization of diverse capital—including private finance and endowment funds—to bridge the infrastructure gap and address climate-induced risks like floods and droughts.

The report assesses the economic viability of flood mitigation strategies in Colombia's La Mojana region, comparing grey infrastructure, nature-based infrastructure (NBI), and sustainable agriculture. It finds that all considered interventions are investment-worthy, with the potential to avoid over USD 1.26 billion in damages over 30 years.

The Urban Wage Employment Initiative (UWEI) was launched by Odisha's Housing and Urban Development Department in 2020 to combat unemployment and poverty among urban poor and migrant workers during COVID-19 lockdowns. The program employed 700,000 workers and paid $12 million in wages, focusing on climate-resilient public works such as rainwater harvesting and flood mitigation. By utilizing community organizations as 'alternative service providers' instead of professional contractors, the program ensured benefits remained local and reached marginalized groups. The success of UWEI led to its conversion in February 2021 into a permanent program called MUKTA (Mukhyamantri Karma Tatpara Abhiyan), establishing a precedent for pro-poor urban employment schemes in India.