Natural Capital Review

DavidSuzuki1 It's critical to protect and restore the region’s remaining areas of high natural capital value, areas like wetlands and forests that provide a multitude of ecological services and have the highest economic value. The identification of natural capital and ecosystem valuation is vital in order to stimulate a growing dialogue in British Columbia and Canada regarding the importance of natural capital and environmental stewardship and how to account for nature’s wealth in economic policy development and land use planning

The Natural Capital Review (NCR) of the BC Lower Mainland report assesses the often neglected economic value of natural capital, natural ecosystems like forests, wetlands, and green spaces, within and surrounding our communities. The findings of the economic report will for the first time examine the economic benefits that are provided by the region’s natural capital and implications for economic policy development and land use planning.

The NCR report assesses the full economic value of the essential ecological services that nature provides, like filtering our air and water, cooling our cities, protecting us from floods and storms and absorbing and storing carbon. We have tended to take these ecological services for granted and they have historically been undervalued in market economies.

Read the Vancouver Sun Article

Read the full report

Partners

The Pacific Parklands Foundation, in partnership with Metro Vancouver and the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia, commissioned the David Suzuki Foundation to conduct a Natural Capital Review of the BC Lower Mainland. This initiative fits well with Metro Vancouver’s Sustainability Report: Ecological Health – enriching life through healthy ecosystems as well as the target for Metro Vancouver to protect all endangered wetlands by 2015.

Cost:

$200,000

Status:

The NCR project report was released at the end of October 2010.

David Suzuki Foundation website

Real Estate Foundation website

Raccoons