Report Urges Governments to Put a Price Tag on Nature

Decision-makers need to get a better handle on the costs of degrading nature

Nov. 15, 2004 , Winnipeg, Man. — A report released today by one of Canada’s leading environmental economists urges governments to develop a system that puts a price tag on the services nature provides in our settled areas, before it is too late.

Dr. Nancy Olewiler, a professor of economics and director of the Public Policy Program at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, was commissioned by Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) with the support of the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) to author a comprehensive discussion paper entitled, The Value of Natural Capital in Settled Areas of Canada. Olewiler provided this report to DUC and NCC on a pro bono basis.

“Dr. Olewiler uses Canadian case studies to illustrate the value of nature and shows that preservation or restoration of natural areas within settled parts of Canada will create substantial benefits to society,” says Brian Gray, DUC’s director of conservation programs. “The continued destruction of nature will require human-made substitutes that are very expensive.”

In the paper, Olewiler says governments that adopt land use policies without taking into account the value of nature may be making decisions that are very costly now and into the future. She adds that governments need to increase efforts to measure and quantify the services of nature, so decision-makers can make better land use decisions.

The report says when nature is destroyed, society loses benefits such as:

good quality surface and groundwater
the ability to reduce water and waste treatment costs
aesthetic and recreational opportunities
protecting agricultural production on lands threatened by urbanization
the ability to decrease net greenhouse gas emissions
the ability to mitigate floods
the ability to improve air quality by protecting forests and reducing urban sprawl
protecting and enhancing habitats and ecological services of all kinds

Four Canadian sites were chosen as case studies for the report, in British Columbia’s Lower Fraser Valley, Manitoba and Saskatchewan’s Upper Assiniboine River Basin, Ontario’s Grand River Watershed and Prince Edward Island’s Mill River Watershed. The case studies alone demonstrate that protecting natural capital in the settled areas of Canada may save society hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars every year.

“I think Canadians recognize that our wilderness and natural areas are key elements of our national identity. This report takes us a step further to recognize the important role nature plays in the economy and in the health and wellbeing of this country as a whole,” said NCC President John Lounds.

According to one third-party peer reviewer, the report contains many key findings that Canada’s decision-makers and politicians need to be cognizant of.

"This paper is very important because it illustrates how converting our natural areas to urban settlement may be extremely inefficient because these natural areas provide services of such high value,” says Elizabeth Troutt, an associate professor of economics at the University of Manitoba. “I really hope the paper will reach an audience with the power to apply these points to develop sound policies that reflect the high value of Canada's natural capital."

Since 1938, DUC has conserved, restored and managed wetlands and their associated habitats for North America’s waterfowl. These habitats also benefit other wildlife and people. Over the course of 66 years of delivering sound science-based conservation programs as a non-profit organization, DUC has been able to conserve more than 10 million hectares (24.8 million acres) in Canada.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada is a non-profit, non-advocacy organization that takes a business-like approach to land conservation and the preservation of biological diversity. Since 1962, NCC and its supporters have protected more than 725,000 hectares (1.8 million acres) of ecologically significant land nationwide.

For more information:

Duncan Morrison, d_morrison@ducks.ca
National Marketing and Communications Coordinator
Ducks Unlimited Canada
(204) 467-3202
Cell: (204) 792-3678

Jane Lawton
Director, Corporate Marketing and Communications
Nature Conservancy of Canada
(416) 932-3202
Cell: (416) 569-9245