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The natural infrastructure sector in the Canadian Prairies contributed over CAD 4.1 billion to GDP and employed over 33,000 people directly in 2022. In Manitoba, the sector directly employed over 5,700 people and contributed over CAD 540 million to the provincial economy in 2022. Investment scenarios for Manitoba suggest that annual investments of CAD 10 million or CAD 25 million could increase direct jobs by 8% to 21% and direct GDP by 7% to 17%. Similar growth potentials are identified for Alberta and Saskatchewan, where natural infrastructure is viewed as a means to bridge water infrastructure gaps and increase resilience against floods, droughts, and wildfires.

The study establishes a nutrient mass balance for Pelican Lake, Manitoba, finding that the lake acts as a net sink for phosphorus and a net source of nitrogen. External nutrient loads are strongly linked to surface hydrology and agricultural land use, with internal recycling from sediments contributing significantly to phosphorus levels. The findings suggest that remediation should focus on high-agricultural sub-catchments and the regulation of the Pembina River inlet dam.

The briefing emphasizes that strategic management of water retention sites—including engineered wetlands—is essential for Manitoba to mitigate risks from floods, drought, and nutrient loading. It details the importance of controlling retention times, water levels, and biomass harvesting to capture contaminants and support a local bioeconomy. The document highlights successful examples like Pelly’s Lake in Manitoba and North Ottawa in Minnesota, and calls for the use of Light Detection and Ranging data and clear management criteria to ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of these projects.

The report examines the legislative landscape for harvesting cattails and similar ecological biomass in Manitoba, concluding that such activities are not currently explicitly covered by federal or provincial legislation. It proposes two management frameworks: a private benefit scenario modeled on resource extraction like wild rice harvesting, and a publicly funded land management assistance scenario using contracts or incentives.

The Lake Winnipeg Basin Summit, held in November and December 2010, brought together approximately 150 stakeholders to address water quality and nutrient loading in the Lake Winnipeg Basin. Using a 'back-casting' approach, participants developed a vision for a sustainable development strategy that integrates environmental, economic, and social objectives. The report concludes that Manitoba, as the downstream jurisdiction and principal beneficiary, should lead the implementation of this comprehensive and adaptive management project.

The Lake Winnipeg Basin Summit, hosted by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), brought together 150 stakeholders to address the eutrophication of Lake Winnipeg. The summit shifted the narrative from viewing nutrient loading as a purely environmental crisis to an economic opportunity for Manitoba to develop a 21st-century bioeconomy. Participants developed a vision for 2040 centered on sustainable development, emphasizing the link between the health of the lake and its broader basin. Key outcomes include the establishment of a five-year action plan, the Lake Winnipeg Bioeconomy Initiative, and the creation of Technical and Strategic Advisory Committees to coordinate governance and policy reform.

The report examines the global challenge of 'peak phosphorus,' where the depletion of easily mined rock phosphate reserves threatens global food security. It highlights the Lake Winnipeg Basin as a critical example of phosphorus mismanagement, where agricultural runoff has led to extreme eutrophication. The authors advocate for a transition from mineral fertilizer dependency to a circular phosphorus economy through wastewater recovery (e.g., struvite technology), composting, and improved agricultural practices like no-till farming.

The report argues that the Lake Winnipeg Basin is highly suitable for water quality trading (WQT) because agricultural nonpoint sources contribute between 59% and 97% of phosphorus loads in the Canadian portion of the basin. It proposes a multi-level architecture combining inter sub-basin trading (using a trading ratio model to meet overall lake targets) and intra sub-basin trading (using reverse auctions to incentivize best management practices). The authors suggest that the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and Canada Water Act provide the necessary regulatory basis, and recommend a composite market structure to minimize transaction costs.

The report applies an Integrated Management of Environmental Assets (IMEA) approach to evaluate the economic value of ecosystem services in southern Manitoba. It compares the current landscape, dominated by agriculture, with three reconstructed pre-settlement scenarios. The analysis finds that restoring natural environments, particularly forests and wetlands, could significantly increase annual ecosystem service values and provide cost-effective alternatives to hard infrastructure for water purification and climate regulation. The study highlights that nonpoint nutrient loading from agricultural runoff is a primary driver of Lake Winnipeg's eutrophication and argues that a balance between productive and natural landscapes is essential for the lake's health.

The report proposes the Natural Capital Approach (NCA) as a method to quantify and value ecosystem services to reconcile economic and environmental imperatives. It evaluates the NCA against other management styles, reviews international and domestic initiatives, and suggests a spatially based informatics architecture. The authors recommend that Environment Canada lead a pilot study in the Red and Assiniboine River system in Manitoba to demonstrate the utility of the Canadian System of Environmental and Resource Accounts (CSERA) and ecosystem service valuation for policy design.