Municipal Natural Assets Initiative: Town of Oakville

Published by: David Suzuki Foundation and partners
Authored by: Michelle Molnar, Jake Sahl, Michael Thompson, Joal Borggard, Cindy Toth, Amec Foster Wheeler, Ron Scheckenberger, Patrick MacDonald
Partners: Smart Prosperity Institute, Town of Gibsons, Roy Brooke and Associates
ISBN: 978-1-988424-20-0

Climate solutions, Cities Ontario, Municipal Natural Assets Initiative, eco-assets, economics, water systems, natural capital, climate change

While Canada focuses on efforts to reduce climate change, there’s growing recognition that we can’t meet our climate change goals without finding ways to adapt. A natural assets management approach has the advantage of addressing both mitigation and adaptation, taking us to the next level of policy solutions.

The Town of Oakville, which is losing green space to development, considered the Maplehurst remnant channel in relation to natural asset conversions. The town found it would require between $1.2 and $1.4 million to replace a 240-plus-metre channel with engineered infrastructure. Investigating remnant channels and including natural assets in policy has become a town focus.