Through support from Environment and Climate Change Canada, NAI and the Climate Risk Institute analyzed whether a community of practice could help advance nature-based solutions and natural asset management (NAM). This report explores the opportunities and challenges of developing a community of practice for nature-based solutions and proposes a model for a future natural asset management community of practice.

Based on the literature review and interviews with industry and technical experts, we conclude that a community of practice should be considered for NAM to the extent that it provides an effective means to advance NAM and make it a mainstream practice across Canada. Provided the platform follows the outlined best practices and has the resources necessary for ongoing management, our analysis suggests that a community of practice could help address known barriers and challenges that currently limit the rate at which NAM is being adopted, including lack of awareness, lack of case studies, and limited guidance on region-specific applications of NAM. The platform could also provide a channel for collaborative problem-solving, help to foster idea generation and innovation in NAM, and support sharing of resources and knowledge to reduce redundancies and duplication of efforts.

Although it’s not necessarily a prerequisite to making NAM a widespread practice, a community of practice would progress NAM along the twin trajectories of implementation and standardization of norms.

This project was undertaken with the financial support of:
Ce projet a été réalisé avec l’appui financier de: