IISD’s Natural Infrastructure for Water Solutions (NIWS) program and NAI have a shared goal: make nature-based solutions mainstream in Canada.
What started as participation in the first Advancing Natural Infrastructure Forum in 2018 has grown into a successful multi-year partnership between our two organizations. NIWS has supported and collaborated with NAI to help grow capacity for natural asset management across the Canadian Prairies, from building up professions and skilled tradesand planning policy guidance to in-person training and presentations to reach those ‘doing the doing’ in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Prairies: A Promising Place for Natural Infrastructure
Canada’s Prairie communities face unique challenges from climate change—growing drought and flood risks are further punctuated by the fact that the region contains more than 80% of the country’s irrigated farmland and is losing critical natural assets to development.
However, the Prairies’ unique ecosystems are powerhouse natural assets and present a great opportunity to protect and leverage the benefits of natural infrastructure to build resilient water infrastructure for decades to come. To do this, natural infrastructure needs to become a widespread practice.
We’ve learned that to make an impact, we need to tailor our work to the distinct context of the Prairies, which is why our partnership is focused on supporting the small and mid-sized communities through capacity building as well as policy and planning guidance for natural infrastructure.
With support from NIWS, NAI has been able to scale natural asset management efforts in the Prairies more than ever before. As co-hosts alongside IISD and Alberta WaterSMART for the 2024 Advancing Natural Infrastructure Forum, we supported knowledge and resource sharing between the over 100 innovators and implementers who are advancing nature-based solutions across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
We were able to engage with over 240 professional planners through training and outreach activities (coordinated with provincial planning associations) between October 2024 and March 2025 alone. At the community level, we’ve been able to get a number of Prairie local governments started in natural asset management through the Roadmap Program, including:
- Blackfalds, AB
- Brandon, MB
- Devon, AB
- Lacombe County, AB
- Lethbridge, AB
- Martensville, SK
- Parkland County, AB
- Rocky View County, AB
- Smoky Lake County, AB
- Springfield, MB
- St. Albert, AB
- Strathcona County, AB
- Sturgeon County, AB
- Winnipeg, MB
Through the conference, interviews and articles, we’ve also showcased Prairie local governments like Selkirk, Saskatoon, and St. Albert, who are leading the way in natural asset management, helping to solidify natural infrastructure as a real and doable solution for communities with similar challenges (and similar natural assets in their communities).
There’s still a lot of work to do, and NAI is proud to partner with NIWS to scale up natural infrastructure efforts and support Prairie resilience. Our efforts continue with a new project getting off the ground in the City St. Albert — stay tuned!
About the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)’s NIWS initiative:
The Natural Infrastructure for Water Solutions (NIWS) initiative is a multi-year project helping to scale up natural infrastructure as a practical response to water, infrastructure, biodiversity, and climate challenges facing the Canadian Prairies. A growing network of researchers, practitioners, and community leaders, NIWS aims to help make natural infrastructure a more mainstream approach in rural and urban areas and in government planning and policy.
