Citation | Molnar, M. 2015. Sound Investment: Measuring the return on Howe Sound's ecosystem assets. David Suzuki Foundation. |
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Organization | David Suzuki Foundation |
URL | http://www.davidsuzuki.org/publications/downloads/SoundInvestment-HoweSoundEcosystemAssets.pdf |
Abstract/Description or Keywords | HOWE SOUND IS AN AREA OF REGIONAL SIGNIFICANCE, but it has rarely been considered as a region. As one of the most southern sound inlets on the mainland coast of British Columbia, it provides habitat and sheltered access to a range of species and is high in biological diversity. Connecting to the Georgia Strait and the larger Salish Sea, the region is an ecosystem of critical importance to keeping our environment in balance. Composed of a network of fjords, islands and surrounding mainland communities, it hosts some of the most spectacular scenery in the world — the result of glaciers, earthquakes, volcanoes and mountain-building from a past geological era. The rugged topography of the region has restricted settlement to the coastline and the valleys (see map). Within this limited footprint lies an assortment of municipalities, towns, villages and island communities that fall under the jurisdiction of three regional districts and the Islands Trust. In addition, it is the traditional territory of the Coast Salish First Nations, who have resided here for thousands of years. Its influence extends to Vancouver — a large adjacent urban population — and two recreation- and tourism-focused population centres that lie on two sides of it, Whistler to the north and the Sunshine Coast to the west. This large estuary, nestled among B.C.’s most populated city and the region’s highest tourism destinations, is also of high ecological significance. Humpback, killer and grey whales, pods of Pacific white-sided dolphins, spawning salmon and herring are all returning after decades of low numbers. The cumulative impact of pollution from past industrial activity created a dead zone, a hypoxic (low-oxygen) area of the ocean, where marine life was hard to find. As the natural systems were degraded, costly investments were needed to replace the lost services of ecosystems and to rehabilitate the damaged environment. Recovery efforts, which began in 1988, have been effective. The marine dead zone has shrunk and life is returning to the sound, signalling ecosystem recovery. This recovery is of great interest to scientists around the world, as little is known of the dynamics of marine recovery. This all-too-rare good news story could be short-lived. Numerous industrial development projects, from proposed gravel mines in estuaries to waste garbage incinerators and pulp mills to liquid natural gas (LNG) facilities, are on the horizon. The projects are at various stages of consideration. The purpose of this study is to estimate the economic value of the ecosystem services provided by the land and marine ecosystems and their uses within the region. Although many ecosystem services do not appear on the market, balance sheets or decision-making frameworks, they are essential for life, societal well-being and our economies. Breathable air, drinkable water, nourishing food, minerals and raw materials are just a few “ecosystem services”. Without understanding this value, critical natural systems could be lost at great cost to communities today and into the future. Understanding these values can set the stage for building an economy that maintains and cares for our world. Natural systems are only recently beginning to be viewed as economic assets, providing economically valuable goods and services. Within the past decade, considerable progress has been made to systematically link functioning ecosystems with human well-being. For this study we employed the ecosystem services framework, which was developed within ecological economics as a tool for including nature’s value in economic decision-making. The study’s findings reveal that the Howe Sound watersheds provide an estimated annual value of $800 million to $4.7 billion in ecosystem services. The study area’s natural systems provide residents with food, clean water, a stable climate, protection from natural disasters and a place to relax, recreate and reconnect with nature. The region’s ecosystems produce a flow of valuable services across time. In this sense, the environment of Howe Sound can be thought of as a capital asset. This analogy can be extended by calculating the net present value of the future flows of ecosystem services, just as the asset value of a traditional capital asset (or large project) can be approximately calculated as the net present value of its future benefits. If we were to treat the region’s ecosystems as an economic asset, providing a stream of benefits over 50 years, the present value would range between $15 billion and $91 billion, using a conventional discount rate. The table below provides a summary of the estimated value of individual ecosystems in Howe Sound. The highest valued land/water covers on a per hectare basis include beaches (valued at a maximum of $225,105 annually) and wetlands (valued at a maximum of $172,946 annually). Beaches are highly valuable for tourism and recreation, as well as disturbance regulation. Wetlands, on the other hand, exhibit value across a range of services including disturbance regulation, waste treatment, water supply, habitat and tourism and recreation.The value of intact ecosystems can also be calculated according to the services or benefits they provide. We found the highest valued services to be tourism and recreation (valued at a maximum of $304,000/ hectare/year) and disturbance regulation (valued at a maximum of $84,000/hectare/year). Information on the economic value of natural systems will not on its own provide a solution to the degradation of ecosystems. The real challenge is to use this information to remedy failures in markets, policies and resource management. This valuation can be used in many ways. In addition to identifying conservation needs and drawing attention to the importance of ecosystem services and the natural capital they rely on, the results of this study can be used to help evaluate the trade-offs this region is facing with respect to industrial development decisions. It can also be used to support ecosystem accounting, to inform the development of tax policies and to assist in the evaluation of financial assurances to decommission and restore sites after major resource projects have ended. Industrial resurgence and nature recovery must be considered together — not in the current piecemeal approach that could set them on a collision course. The future of Howe Sound’s environment and economy is intricately connected. Careful choices must be made to ensure a healthy and sustainable future for natural systems and the economy. |
Information Type | report |
Regional Watershed | Howe Sound & Sunshine Coast |
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Project status | complete |
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