MNAI Presentation Proposal (Correspondence)
Email from the View Royal Climate Coalition encouraging the Town to commit to a natural asset inventory with MNAI.
From: Jane Devonshire Sent: Monday, October 5, 2020 10:59 AM To: Info Address info@viewroyal.ca Subject: Re: MNAI presentation
Dear Mayor, Council and VR Staff,
Following up on the council meeting of September 22, I reached out to the Executive Director of MNAI Roy Brooke with the intention of setting up a presentation to staff and council.
Roy indicated that they get daily expressions of interest from local governments that are really serious and committed to wanting to do this work and they have to focus their limited capacity where they will find the greatest chance of success. If Mayor and/or Council request them to present to Council then they will happily do so if staff and council are committed to pursuing a natural asset inventory.
To reassure you about the intentions of MNAI, they are a non-profit organization. Please check out their website, mnai.ca and under “About” there is a drop-down menu where you will find the Board, Team and Testimonials. They have a stellar Board of Directors and Team Members with a wealth of experience on environmental issues and asset management. I think you will find that they are well intentioned people. Roy Brooke himself has worked internationally with the United Nations.
Natural asset management of the Town’s services falls upon the shoulders of the staff. A natural asset management plan would save them massive hours of work. For $2500 it is a worthwhile investment.
Jeff Chow stated at the last council meeting that the CCAP is integral to the Strategic Plan and OCP. So too we feel is the MNAI. It would support climate change adaptations whose value can grow over time.
It is my sincere hope that you will revisit MNAI and between staff and council come to a unanimous decision that you would like to commit to having a natural asset inventory done.
To that end I have included some resources that I hope will help you formulate your decision.
I have attached the Integrated Climate Action for BC Communities Initiative (ICABCCI) paper “Accounting for Natural Assets: A Low Carbon Resilience Approach” This was put together by SFU and can be found on the Climate Caucus Canada website.
Here is a link to another document which illustrates the importance of managing our natural assets. https://waterbucket.ca/cfa/2019/10/11/guidance-document-primer-on-integrating-natural-assets-into-asset-management-released-by-asset-management-bc-september-2019/
Here is an excerpt from the above:
Launched in 2015, Asset Management for Sustainable Service Delivery: A BC Framework sets a strategic direction for local government service delivery. It refocuses business processes on how constructed and natural assets are used to deliver services, and support outcomes that reduce life-cycle costs and address risks.
Development of the BC Framework was led by the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) in partnership with Asset Management BC. When applying for infrastructure grants, communities must identify where they are within the asset management process using the Framework. Updated in 2019, the Framework is now complemented by a set of four companion Primers, released in September:
- Climate Change and Asset Management
- Integrating Natural Assets with Asset Management*
- The Role of Operations & Maintenance in Asset Management
- Land Use Planning and Asset Management
In the introduction to the Primer on Integrating Natural Assets with Asset Management, it states that the Primer “builds on the foundations established by these initiatives”: 1) Living Water Smart, BC’s Water Plan; 2) EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process, a program of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC; 3) the Municipal Natural Assets Initiative (MNAI).
With hopes that staff and council will come to a unanimous decision to seriously pursue applying for a municipal natural asset inventory through MNAI.
Should you reach that consensus, please let me know and I, or preferably someone with more authority from the town can reach out to Roy again.
I would just like to reiterate that Roy is amenable to having a conversation with anyone from staff or council at this preliminary stage. royb@mnai.ca
Please excuse this rather lengthy email but there was a lot of important information that we wished to convey to staff and council. Let’s protect these wonderful natural assets that serve us so well and that we are so blessed to have in View Royal.
Sincerely,
Jane Devonshire 242 Glenairlie Drive On behalf of the VRCC
PS I have again attached the “Calls for Expression of Interest” from MNAI which outlines what they offer for their services.