This Guide is part of a pilot project to assist local governments across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba in addressing their infrastructure needs through natural infrastructure solutions. It provides a brief overview of natural asset management as it relates to statutory planning processes in the Canada’s Prairies, with a focus on Official Community Plans, Municipal Development Plans, and Regional Plans.

Planning with Nature in the Prairies was developed by NAI and Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), supported by the International Institute for Sustainable Development’s Natural Infrastructure for Water Solutions (NIWS) initiative.

To pilot this guidance, NAI and DUC are engaging with local governments in the Prairies who are currently in the process of renewing or updating their statutory plans, providing this document as well as tailored input for consideration in their draft plans. Interested local governments can reach out to info@naturalassetsinitiative.ca and du_edmonton@ducks.cato get involved.

As this is a pilot version of the guidance, we invite feedback on how we can improve its contents to support planning with natural infrastructure in the Prairies. Please send comments to info@naturalassetsinitiative.ca

Thank you to the organizations and experts who contributed to the development of this document.