WC131 JulyAugust 2023 - Magazine - Page 12
WATERSHEDS
Focus on H2O
Putting Water at the Centre of Nature-Based Solutions
BY EMILY SHARMA
NAI’s largest
completed
watershed project,
Grindstone Creek,
in Ontario, was
a collaboration
between partners
across multiple
jurisdictions to
understand the
value and condition
of natural assets in
the watershed and
to incorporate them
in shared financial
planning and asset
management.
Emily Sharma
Emily Sharma is the communications
and engagement associate with the
Natural Assets Initiative.
12
WATER C AN ADA • JULY/AUGUS T 2023
ORE THAN 90 PER CENT of the global impacts of
climate change are water-related—and Canada is no
exception. Severe weather continues to exacerbate issues
related to our already inadequate infrastructure. Naturebased solutions (NBS) are among the most effective
tools we have for mitigating these challenges, but they are not
being adopted at the rate needed to keep up with the changing
climate.
M
The importance of a watershed-level approach
When the Natural Assets Initiative (previously known as the
Municipal Natural Assets Initiative) began working with local
governments, projects were usually confined within a specific
area, often at the sub-watershed level. However, after seven years
and over 100 communities, the Natural Assets Initiative’s (NAI)
projects have intentionally moved to incorporate full watersheds.
Why? Simply put, watersheds are the ecological unit that makes
the most sense. Parcelling out sections of a watershed makes
restoration efforts null if those upstream pollute or mismanage
their waterways. Calculating ecosystem services across an entire,
connected watershed offers a more accurate assessment of its
health and value.
It also allows for shared responsibility. NAI’s largest completed
watershed project, Grindstone Creek, in Ontario, was a collaboration between partners across multiple jurisdictions to understand
the value and condition of natural assets in the watershed and to
incorporate them in shared financial planning and asset management. Grindstone Creek watershed’s stormwater services alone
provided an estimated $2 billion in value, meaning the mismanagement of its natural assets would come at a great cost to all.
Challenges to natural asset management
Water is at the centre of climate issues, thus, to overcome obstacles
to NBS, we must also centre it in our climate solutions. More
local governments are recognizing the value of conceptualizing
nature as a whole. NAI has started new watershed projects in
2023, including one with the Halifax Regional Municipality, and
another with the Town of Pelham, Ont.
Despite growing interest in conducting natural asset management at the watershed level, there are still barriers preventing NAI
and others from widespread action.
About nine per cent of the world’s renewable supply of freshwa-
WAT E R C A N A D A . N E T
