[CANUFNET] Urban Trees Are Infrastructure - Natural Capital Assets

[ebuffie at mymts.net]

Hi Naomi,

Like many bio-economists and environmentalists I see trees as Natural Capital Assets and an essential part of urban “natural" infrastructure, and until governments see them as assets with quantifiable value, worthy of the investment needed to maintain and protect them they’ll continue to do nothing and leave the burden to cities and municipalities. Our urban canopies are in crisis and facing multiple threats and governments aren’t doing what they need to do. For more on natural capital assets you might want to read this:  https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2021/02/06/how-should-economists-think-about-biodiversity?fbclid=IwAR39jglm_aGNffQXMDvYwSgJzMp2WND6Tkep6NZnhDvwxRwwqvAejeAlWvU <https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2021/02/06/how-should-economists-think-about-biodiversity?fbclid=IwAR39jglm_aGNffQXMDvYwSgJzMp2WND6Tkep6NZnhDvwxRwwqvAejeAlWvU>

The bottom line is until governments start to rethink the way we see trees and value ecosystems for the massive amount of work they do, FOR US, they’ll just continue on the breakneck path of destroying the very things we need to survive.

best,

Erba



> On Feb 19, 2021, at 11:17 AM, Naomi Zurcher via CANUFNET <canufnet at list.web.net> wrote:
> 
> Hi Erna:
> 
> You’ll forgive me but trees are NOT infrastructure.
> 
> Infrastructure is what humans construct. Trees are a living organism - NOT a human construct.
> 
> Trees are an essential part of the Urban Forest which can be defined as follows:
> 
> " The Urban Forest is an ecosystem characterized by the presence of trees and related flora and fauna, the soils and landscapes they populate and the air and water resource they coexist with, all in a dynamic association with people and their human settlements." (Zürcher, N. In review. Connecting Trees with People: Synergistic Strategies for Growing the Urban Forest. Springer Publishing)  
> 
> Green infrastructure is a term that was coined by the US EPA and was defined as follows:
> "Section 502 of the Clean Water Act defines green infrastructure as "...the range of measures that use plant or soil systems, permeable pavement or other permeable surfaces or substrates, stormwater harvest and reuse, or landscaping to store, infiltrate, or evapotranspirate stormwater and reduce flows to sewer systems or to surface waters."
> Green infrastructure is a cost-effective, resilient approach to managing wet weather impacts that provides many community benefits. While single-purpose gray stormwater infrastructure—conventional piped drainage and water treatment systems—is designed to move urban stormwater away from the built environment, green infrastructure reduces and treats stormwater at its source while delivering environmental, social, and economic benefits…”
> https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/what-green-infrastructure <https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/what-green-infrastructure>
> 
> Thank you for your attention to this important information
> 
> Kind regards
> Naomi Zürcher
> 
>> On Feb 19, 2021, at 11:52 AM, ebuffie--- via CANUFNET <canufnet at list.web.net <mailto:canufnet at list.web.net>> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi Everyone,
>> 
>> Trees Please Winnipeg has made a budget submission to the federal government asking for natural infrastructure funds for urban forests. If you have time you can help to support our efforts by reading our submission here:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VpBsp1Ai_wJPX7020UqP4miVDZlVeoVA/view?fbclid=IwAR32HXwFpjVrYvEXUPwKCjTCB7P5tcLOa4HwKr8A0M3BkGeJOqN1ViKXugU <https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VpBsp1Ai_wJPX7020UqP4miVDZlVeoVA/view?fbclid=IwAR32HXwFpjVrYvEXUPwKCjTCB7P5tcLOa4HwKr8A0M3BkGeJOqN1ViKXugU>
>> 
>> Then take a few minutes to:
>> 
>> 1. Fill out the budget 2021 questionnaire and make sure you include “Invest in Communities through public transit, affordable housing, and green infrastructure” as one of your choices for Question One.   https://letstalkbudget2021.ca/pre_budget_consultations <https://letstalkbudget2021.ca/pre_budget_consultations>
>> 
>> 2. EMAIL Finance Minister Freeland and cc your MP to let them know why you urban trees matter and support our request for infrastructure funding. Chrystia.Freeland at parl.gc.ca <mailto:Chrystia.Freeland at parl.gc.ca> 
>> 
>> You can also read an oped on the subject here:https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/urban-forest-deserves-multi-layered-support-573826582.html?fbclid=IwAR0BcLtz36j_RckKmlpYrbWGsvcDM-SPPCLC42H17kRJ7Yfvu351k-o6NaE <https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/urban-forest-deserves-multi-layered-support-573826582.html?fbclid=IwAR0BcLtz36j_RckKmlpYrbWGsvcDM-SPPCLC42H17kRJ7Yfvu351k-o6NaE>
>> 
>> Thanks for your time!
>> 
>> Erna
>> 
>> 
> 

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