Natural Capital in BC’s Lower Mainland VALUING THE BENEFITS FROM NATURE NATURAL CAPITAL IN BC’s LOWER MAINLAND: VALUING THE BENEFITS FROM NATURE November 2010 – FINAL EDITION AUTHOR: Sara J. Wilson, Natural Capital Research & Consulting, [email protected] PREPARED FOR: The Pacific Parklands Foundation PREPARED BY: The David Suzuki Foundation and Sara Wilson, Natural Capital Research & Consulting GRAPHIC DESIGN AND PHOTOGRAPHY: Nadene Rehnby and Pete Tuepah www.handsonpublications.com Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data for this book is available through the National Library of Canada ISBN 978-1-897375-34-1 This report can be downloaded free of charge at www.davidsuzuki.org/publications 6th Floor, 4330 Kingsway, Burnaby, BC V5H 4G8 Suite 219, 2211 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6K 4S2 T: 604.451.6168 F: 604.432.6296 T: 604.732.4228 F: 604.732.4228 Toll free: 1-800-453-1533 E: [email protected] E: [email protected] www.pacificparklands.ca www.davidsuzuki.org Contents Foreword ..............................................................................................................................................5 Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................7 PART 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................13 What is Natural Capital? ..................................................................................................13 Why is it Important to Measure Natural Capital? ..........................................................13 The Importance of Valuing Ecosystem Services ..........................................................14 Previous Regional Valuation Studies ..............................................................................16 Purpose of the Report ......................................................................................................17 PART 2 B.C.’S LOWER MAINLAND...................................................................................................18 Geographic Context for the Region .................................................................................18 Threats to the Region’s Natural Capital ..........................................................................21 PART 3 LAND COVER IN THE LOWER MAINLAND ......................................................................... 22 Development of Land Cover Databases ........................................................................ 22 Overview of Land Cover Data for Study Area .................................................................23 PART 4 STUDY APPROACH ..............................................................................................................25 Natural Capital Valuation Framework .............................................................................25 Identification of Ecosystem Services ........................................................................... 26 Non-Market Ecosystem Valuation ................................................................................. 28 PART 5 VALUE OF NATURAL CAPITAL IN THE LOWER MAINLAND................................................ 30 Climate Regulation .......................................................................................................... 30 Clean Air ............................................................................................................................ 36 Coastal Protection ............................................................................................................37 Flood Prevention/ Water Regulation .............................................................................. 38 Waste Treatment...............................................................................................................39 Water Supply .....................................................................................................................41 Pollination .........................................................................................................................43 Freshwater Salmon Habitat ............................................................................................ 44 Recreation and Tourism ...................................................................................................45 Local Food Production .................................................................................................... 46 PART 6 CASE STUDIES.....................................................................................................................47 Fraser Lowlands Wetlands Case Study ..........................................................................47 Ecosystem Services provided by Organic Agricultural Practices .............................. 48 PART 7 SUMMARY OF VALUES ....................................................................................................... 50 Value of Ecosystem Services by Benefits .................................................................... 50 Value of Ecosystem Services by Land Cover Class ..................................................... 50 Net Present Values for Ecosystem Benefit Values .......................................................52 Distribution of Ecosystem Benefits by Watershed ......................................................53 PART 8 CONCLUSIONS .....................................................................................................................57 PART 9 LIMITATIONS OF STUDY AND RESULTS .............................................................................. 58 Appendix A: Land Cover Sources ......................................................................................................59 Appendix B: CITYgreen Methods .......................................................................................................61 Appendix C: Definition and Identification for Ecosystem Services ..............................................64 Map 1: Eco-Regions in the Lower Mainland ....................................................................................19 Map 2: Study Area ..............................................................................................................................19 Map 3: Watersheds Within the Study Area ..................................................................................... 20 Map 4: Study Area Land Cover/Land Use ........................................................................................24 Map 5: Secondary Study Area Forest Land Cover by Age Class ....................................................31 Map 6: Ecosystem Service Value by Forest Age ............................................................................33 Map 7: Forest Age Cover in the Primary and Secondary Study Area ........................................... 38 Map 8: Vegetated Cover in the Study Area’s Watersheds ............................................................. 42 Map 9: Wetland Loss in the Fraser Valley Lowlands, 1989–2009 .............................................. 48 Map 10: Average Annual Ecosystem Values ...................................................................................53 Map 11: Average Annual Ecosystem Values by Watershed Unit ..................................................54 Map 12: Average Annual Ecosystem Values by Watershed Group ...............................................55 Map 13: Average Annual Ecosystem Values Across Entire Watersheds ..................................... 56 Table 1: Land Cover in the Study Area..............................................................................................23 Download this report, Table 2: Distribution of Land Cover/Land Use ................................................................................24 and our 2008 report on Table 3: Revised Typology for Ecosystem Services ...................................................................... 26 natural capital in Ontario, Table 4: Services and Potential Benefits/Values by Ecosystem Type .........................................27 at www.davidsuzuki. Table 5: Benefits by Land Cover Type for study valuation ........................................................... 28 org/publications/ Table 6: Valuation Method Used by Benefit Type............................................................................29 Table 7: Amount and Value of Forest Carbon Stored by Forest Land Cover (2005 C$) .............32 Table 8: Value of Carbon Stored by Wetlands ................................................................................. 34 Table 9: Value of Air Pollution Removed by Trees (primary area) ................................................37 Table 10: Value of Air Pollution Removed by Trees (total study area) .........................................37 Table 11: Wetland Loss and Land Cover Type Conversion, 1999/2009 ......................................47 Table 12: Summary of Value of Ecosystem Services by Benefit (2005$) ..................................51 Table 13: Summary of Value of Ecosystem Benefits by Land Cover ............................................51 Table 14: Net Present Values for Ecosystem Benefits (2005$) ..................................................52 Table 15: Average Ecosystem Service Benefit Values by Watershed Group ...............................55 PAGE 4 Foreword WE OFTEN TAKE FOR GRANTED