natural infrastructure as an uncorrelated yield sleeve

natural infrastructure as an uncorrelated yield sleeve\n======================================================\ncoastal surge, river flood, and wildfire are eroding infrastructure returns. natural infrastructure—wetlands, forests, dunes, floodplains—acts as a protective sleeve that doesn’t move with traffic or demand risk. it reduces hazard exposure and creates a yield stream tied to ecosystem services, not throughput.\n\n## what natural infrastructure is in this context\nthink of it as protective capacity you can underwrite: wetlands that absorb surge before it reaches a port, floodplains that store water before it hits bridges, fuel treatments that cut ignition risk near transmission corridors. ensurance certificates fund and verify these services, so investors hold standardized, mrv-backed claims rather than bespoke projects.\n\n## why it belongs in an infra portfolio\n- diversifies beyond transport/energy/telecom revenue risk; payoff is tied to hazard reduction.\n- reduces outage probability and repair-driven irr erosion for adjacent gray assets.\n- mrv makes performance legible to ics and lps, keeping the asset class credible.\n\n## how investors engage\nmap hazards to assets; quantify the service using defensible references (storage, attenuation, fire spread reduction); price premiums from beneficiaries; structure certificates (senior/mezz) with covenants; set an exit/hold path aligned to long-term stewardship.\n\n## examples of fit\n- coastal buffers for ports and terminals facing surge.\n- watershed protection for highways/bridges to cut flood and sediment damage.\n- fuel treatments around transmission corridors to reduce wildfire outage risk.\n- urban green/blue systems to ease stormwater load on metro transport.\n\n## sources\n- usace — engineering with nature — nature-based infrastructure cases\n- noaa sea level rise technical report — coastal surge/slr context\n- swiss re institute — natural catastrophes — loss context for flood/wildfire\n- epa — green infrastructure — lifecycle cost guidance\n\ncta: explore natural infrastructure opportunities