Establishing a Foundation for Ecological Infrastructure Investments in the Red River Basin

Finding a better balance between human-altered and natural environments while maintaining or enhancing the overall long-term socioeconomic viability and well-being of the communities within the Red River Basin (RRB) is the underlying objective of the Building Capacity for Ecological Infrastructure Investments in the Red River Basin initiative.

The Red River Basin Commission and the International Institute for Sustainable Development initiated this project to provide the municipalities and counties of the RRB with the ability to examine ecological infrastructure investments within and outside their jurisdictions to provide cost-effective services to their citizens.This report provides foundational research required to develop a comprehensive decision support system (DSS) that would assist municipalities and counties in the RRB examine the costs and benefits associated with ecological infrastructure investments so they can be compared with hard infrastructure investments. It is expected that the DSS will enable a more thorough exploration of local government investment options, consequently leading to a better balance between human-altered and natural landscapes in the basin.