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So what is natural capital?
We all understand the concept of financial
capital – we pay for things we find valuable.
Natural capital extends that concept to
ecosystems (like forests, fields, wetlands,
lakes and rivers) and the flow of goods and
services they provide.
3. What are edit Master title
Click to ecosystem services?
Ecosystem services are all the things that
nature does for us.
From food to fresh water, clean air,
medicines and safe places to live, our
quality of live depends on them.
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Examples of ecosystem services
• Filtering pollution out of
our air and water
• Absorbing and storing
water during storms and
floods
• Cooling cities by absorbing
heat and providing shade
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Examples of ecosystem services
• Regulating the climate by
storing carbon in
vegetation and soils
• Providing habitat for
plants and animals
• Local food production
• Recreation and tourism
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The true value of natural capital
• The services and benefits nature provides are
undervalued in our market economy as we do not
pay directly for them
• Globally these benefits are estimated to be worth
trillions of dollars per year
• Yet they are not monitored, measured or accounted
for in decision-making and land-use planning
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The true value of natural capital
• Policy-makers and businesses have begun to
recognize nature as a beneficial store of wealth.
• For example, instead of spending more than $7
billion on water treatment plants, the City of New
York instead spent $2 billion to protect and restore
the local watershed to provide its drinking water.
8. Natural capital intitle
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the Lower Mainland
• In October, the David Suzuki
Foundation released Natural
Capital in BC's Lower Mainland:
Valuing the benefits from nature
• The study was commissioned by
the Pacific Parklands Foundation to
determine benefits provided by
areas of natural capital within the
Lower Mainland region
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BC’s Lower Mainland
The study area
included Metro
Vancouver and
its surrounding
watersheds,
extending west
to Squamish and
east to Hope
10. Population pressures
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in the Lower Mainland
• BC’s Lower Fraser Valley contains some of
Canada’s best agricultural lands, wetlands and
forest
• At the same time, the Lower Mainland’s
population of 2.5 million is expected to grow by
20% in the next decade
11. Estimating economic values
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for ecosystem benefits
• Values are assigned to different types of
ecosystem based on land-cover data
• Valuations were predominately based on the cost
to replace natural ecosystems with engineered
systems
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Values edit estimated for
ecosystem services such as:
• Climate regulation • Waste treatment
• Clean air • Pollination
• Water supply • Recreation and tourism
• Flood protection • Food production
13. Ecosystems in the Master title
Click to edit Lower Mainland
• Forests 61%
• Exposed 10%
• Developed 9%
• Water 9%
• Shrublands 5%
• Agriculture 5%
• Wetlands 2%
14. BC’s dwindlingMaster title
Click to edit natural capital
• More than 40% of mature forests have been lost
• More than 100 plants and animals in the region
are at risk
• Half of the original wetlands have been lost
15. Threats to BC’s naturaltitle
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• Sprawling low-density suburban housing
• Dikes and industrial agriculture
• Water pollution from urban centres, agricultural
lands and sewage treatment plants
16. The totaledit Master title
Click to value of benefits
from natural capital each year:
$5.4 billion
$3,880
per hectare
$2,462
per person
$6,402
per household
17. Clickmost valuable types of
The to edit Master title
ecosystem in the region:
Forests Wetlands
$5,900 $4,200
to $7,400 to $6,200
per hectare per hectare
19. What can edit Masterthis info?
Click to we do with title
LEARN:
Find out more about the essential services
nature provides and the staggering economic
value of these benefits in your community.
20. What can edit Masterthis info?
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SHARE:
Share these ideas with local decision-
makers to ensure that decisions about the
growth of your community reflect the true
value of nature.
21. What can edit Masterthis info?
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DO:
Use information about the benefits of
natural capital to bolster local efforts to
protect and restore ecosystems in your
community.
22. For more information
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about natural capital:
David Suzuki Foundation
www.davidsuzuki.org
The Bank of Natural Capital
bankofnaturalcapital.com
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB)
www.teebweb.org
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About the groups involved:
The David Suzuki Foundation is a Canadian nonprofit organization that works
with government, business, and individuals to protect the health of our
communities and the environment through science-based education, advocacy,
and policy work, and acting as a catalyst for social change www.davidsuzuki.org
The Pacific Parklands Foundation is a non-profit society established in
January 2000 with a mandate to ensure the Metro Vancouver region’s parks and
conservation areas are protected and enhanced for the benefit of current and
future generations through philanthropy, volunteerism and public awareness
www.pacificparklands.ca
