Region of Peel Leverages Green Infrastructure
Natural assets, such as forests, wetlands, and other green space, provide a range of services, often referred to as ecosystem services or green infrastructure, upon which our society and economy depend.
The Region of Peel assessed the stormwater services provided by wetlands, forests, and open green spaces in two sub-watersheds and found that the natural assets offer an estimated $704MM of nature-based value.
Distribution of natural assets in East Credit river sub-watershed.
It's a clear demonstration of the importance of natural assets in providing critical services to municipalities and their essential role in increasing resilience and reducing pressures on municipal infrastructure from climate change impacts.
In this report, the Region of Peel’s Municipal Natural Assets Initiative defines natural assets (green infrastructure) as ecosystem features that are nature-based and provide services that would otherwise require the costly equivalent of engineered infrastructure.
For local governments, examples of green infrastructure are forests that channel stormwater and recharge aquifers; and wetlands that reduce flooding risk.
Local governments can leverage natural assets at the community level and prioritize those in municipal asset management portfolios, securing significant budget savings while also delivering vital municipal services more efficiently.
We help your municipality explore how green infrastructure can support your strategic priorities.
