This report aims to inform Ontarians about key economic issues involving ecosystem services and biodiversity in Ontario. These are considered together because their economic issues are similar. This follows the practice of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), of which Canada is a member. This report updates an earlier 2012 report with […]

This report calculates the natural capital value of forests that are located on properties that are conserved by Nature Conservancy of Canada through the TD Forests program. The report includes two main parts: 1. The first part provides general background on Canada’s forests and approaches to natural capital valuation. 2. The second part presents case […]

The Ecosystem Services Toolkit is a technical guide to ecosystem services assessment and analysis that offers practical, step-by-step guidance for governments at all levels, as well as for consultants and researchers. The approach is fully interdisciplinary, integrating biophysical sciences, social sciences, economics, and traditional and practitioner knowledge. It provides guidance on how to consider and […]

This report provides an estimate of the final ecological services provided by the Greenbelt’s natural capital.

Why more cities need to add up the economic value of trees

In May 2013, Spatial Informatics Group submitted a report to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources which presented an ecosystems valuation analysis on the off-site benefits from protected areas’ ecosystem services in Ontario. Two approaches were used in this study. The value transfer approach was used to assess the North Shore area. Four ecosystem service […]

In Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the federal government will invest $16 million in the Great Lakes Nutrient Initiative for a four-year period to address the recurrent toxic and algae issues in Ontario’s Great Lakes. For the Great Lakes Nutrient Initiative, Environment Canada retained Midsummer Analytics to provide insight on the factors and methodologies for evaluating […]

Under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act 2012 (CEAA 2012), Environment Canada (EC) is responsible for reviewing project proposals submitted for environmental assessment (EA) and providing advice to decision‐makers respecting the potential effects of these proposals on Canada’s environment. As part of this work, from time to time, EC’s Economic Analysis Directorate (EAD) conducts valuation of […]

The report addresses how economists deal with society’s preference for unpriced values and describes several approaches to valuing unpriced goods and services. Included in the report is a discussion of economic theory for cost-benefit analyses with respect to unpriced values, identification of value categories and a summary of unpriced values studies that were undertaken in […]

The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) commissioned this guidance document to help establish how water valuation can assist in addressing water management issues and be integrated into decision-making. This document provides guidance for determining the economic value of water, including an overview of various valuation methods, and accounting for the use of […]