Media Clipping — Spring 1999, Between The Issues
a publication of the Ecology Action Centre

The Geniune Progress of Nova Scotia’s Forests

By Sara Justine Wilson, M.Sc.(Forestry), GPI Atlantic

"A country could exhaust its mineral resources, cut down its forests, erode its soils, pollute its aquifers, and hunt its wildlife and fisheries to extinction, but measured income would not be affected as these assets disappeared". (Repetto et al. 1989)

Natural Capital, Flows, and Services

In economic terminology, capital generally refers to a stock of materials or information available and flows include the extractions (e.g. harvests) and/or services from that stock. If the amount taken from a stock does not exceed the stock's growth rate, then, in theory, the flow rate perpetuates through time (Prugh 1995). However, forest ecosystems are complex life-sustaining systems that contain many different stocks, not only timber or wood stocks. Therefore, a complex set of criteria and indicators must be used to measure whether our activities leave the original natural capital intact.

GPI and Natural Capital

In economics, the natural environment has generally been viewed as "free of charge", with little recognition of the life support services provided such as purification of air and water (de Groot 1992, Lutz 1993). As a result, forests are only valued in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for their timber values. In other words, forests are not given economic value until they are cut for timber. If we change the way we measure our economic progress to reflect the benefits and services provided by natural ecosystems, this would facilitate decisions that determine whether social and economic development activities are at the expense of the natural environment. We need to move away from the view that natural resources are a cheap source of capital to be used for short-term economic gain, and towards the view that natural capital can provide goods and services in perpetuity if conserved and used sustainably.

When natural resources are extracted, their price is reflected in the GDP as goods sold. This sends a message to policy-makers that there are no other values to consider. Such inaccurate information is impeding the implementation of sustainable practices. In the case of natural resource depletion, GDP growth may actually signify a decline in well-being rather than a gain in prosperity. However, changes in societal values and a greater recognition of our reliance on ecosystem services have prompted the development of new approaches to natural resource accounting. In order to implement the sustainable use and conservation of forests we need to adopt a new approach to monitoring the effects of our activities on the environment. The Genuine Progress Index (GPI) integrates ecological, social and economic values to monitor progress towards a more sustainable society.

Forest Ecosystem Services

"One additional way to think about the value of ecosystem services is to determine what it would cost to replicate them.. . Experience with space missions and Biosphere II indicates that this is exceedingly complex and expensive. Biosphere I (the Earth) is a very efficient, least-cost provider of human life-support services. - Constanza et al. 1997

Forests supply many services that most of us do not recognize on a daily basis. They provide essential life support services including climate regulation and carbon sequestration, soil erosion control and sediment retention, nutrient and hydrological cycling, and the preservation of watersheds and habitat. Because all life is dependent on the ecological goods and services provided by the earth's systems, some ecological economists say the total value is infinite. However, it is important to measure our impacts on natural capital for ecological as well as economic reasons, as losses in ecosystem goods and services cost us in the form of restoration, substitution, clean-up, scarcity, health, and welfare.

The direct-use of forest values such as timber, medicinal plants, hunting and fishing, recreation and tourism can be assessed monetarily. However, assessing the dollar value of most ecosystem values such as soil conservation, nutrient cycling, watershed protection, flood control, microclimate regulation and carbon sequestration is more complex. Valuations of natural capital are increasingly being considered in the scientific and international arena. For example, a group of scientists recently estimated the value of the world's ecosystem services at US$33 trillion per year (Constanza et al. 1997). Similarly, the ecological values of Mexico's forests have been valued at US$4 billion per year or US$80 per hectare per year (Myers 1997).

At the same time, it must be stressed that this type of valuation does not suggest that the importance of nature should only be reduced to a dollar value. Ecological goods and services can be described and quantified by different methods. Monetary values are simply one of these methods and should be seen as a temporary and tactical addition to, not a replacement of, their intrinsic and intangible values. In fact, they are only necessary as long as monetary criteria completely dominate the decision-making process. The sad reality is that, if no price is attached, our resources are simply not "valued." By drawing attention to the economic value of non-timber forest resources, policy attention is literally directed to their existence, which is generally ignored in the policy arena.

Forest Account Framework

The Genuine Progress Index (GPI) forests account has compiled a set of criteria and indicators from the framework of the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers and the Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators for Boreal and Temperate Forests. The goal is to explicitly address the following forest values: conservation of biological diversity, maintenance and enhancement of forest ecosystem health and productivity, conservation of soil and water quality, forest ecosystem ecological cycling, benefits of forests to society, and the institutional and legal framework for ecologically sustainable forests and communities.

"The economic benefits of forest exploitation or conversion are routinely overestimated, in large part because the ecological and economic costs of the exploitation are ignored ..." Abramovitz, 1998

Most timber accounts in Canada currently monitor deforestation and regeneration, assigning only minor importance to other forest values (i.e. non-timber). To work towards ecologically sustainable forests and communities, all forest values need to be identified, valued and monitored. Presently, timber extraction is accepted as the dominant economic activity in forests. However, the effects of timber extraction and associated activities (e.g. road building) on flora, fauna, water, and environmental quality need to be evaluated and the depreciation in these values should be counted as a cost. In other words, the full benefits and costs due to the type of land use need to be evaluated and tallied for a more accurate account of our actions.

Because forest timber products are in high demand worldwide we are not advocating that timber cutting be prohibited. We are advocating the need to set criteria and indicators that include ecological, social and financial values to ensure ecologically sustainable forest management, conservation of forest biological diversity, community stability and resilience. Indeed, we may find that the extraction of timber is not the most economic use of certain forest areas based on the social, ecological and economic values.

Indicators of Forest Health & Quality

Using sustainable forest indicators for the province of Nova Scotia, the changes in the province's forest capital and the ability of the province's forests to maintain ecological, economic and social services and benefits over time can be considered. There are several trends in Nova Scotia that are adversely affecting the quality and health of our forests and communities:

• Firstly, between 1975 and 1997, employment in the forest industries has declined 15 to 20 percent.
• Secondly, the timber volume harvested has increased 47.6% and the forest area clear cut has increased 152% since 1975.
• Thirdly, the dominant species of the Acadian forest are generally long-lived. However, presently 30% of the provincial forest area consists of forests over 60 years old, 2% over 80 years old, and 0.15% over 100 years old (NSDNR 1995 inventory updated 1998). In 1958, 58% of the provincial forest consisted of forests over 60 years in age, 24% over 80 years old, and 8% over 100 years old. In other words we have lost nearly all our old trees.
• Fourthly, the original Acadian mixedwood forests have been diminished and the hardwood content of the province's forests has declined. Less than 1% of original old-growth forests remain in fragmented landscapes (Lynds and Leduc 1995); 7.6% of the province's forest area is protected; and, only 28.75% (source: WWF) to 32.5% (source: NSDNR) of Nova Scotia's landscape types are protected. In other words, we are rapidly losing the species diversity in our forests.

These trends raise questions about the sustainability of the forest industry for communities in Nova Scotia. The harvest and employment statistics indicate an increasingly mechanized forest industry with insufficient value-added industries. These results also emphasize the importance of including additional forest values such as species and age diversity (need?) in our forest accounting. They should be valued for their vital contribution to long-term timber and non-timber productivity. For example, mixedwood, uneven-aged forests with significant hardwood content have more diverse populations of birds and parasitoids that are natural predators of the spruce budworm (Su et.al. 1996, Crawford et.al. 1983). These studies have demonstrated that balsam fir defoliation due to budworm infestation has beensubstantially less in mixedwood, uneven-aged forests than in typically even-aged softwood forests.

"Ironically, while many people in northern countries look at tropical forests with concern, they may be unaware that the temperate forests in their own backyards are the most fragmented and disturbed of all forest types." (Abramovitz 1998)

A recent study by the Worldwatch Institute expresses concern for the declines in forest quality due to logging and atmospheric pollution in North America, among other places (Abramovitz 1998). Their concern is that as forest quality decreases, forests become more susceptible to pests and disease, as well as nutrient and water deficiencies. In addition, they are concerned about the potential losses in biological diversity and the direct implications on the well-being and resilience of forests. These are not only ecological problems; they also affect our economy. If forests decline in health, they will also decline in timber value. Thus, in protecting the ecological values of forests, timber values can be protected and enhanced too.

From the GPI perspective, the loss of age and species diversity, invisible in the conventional economic accounts, carries major economic costs for the full range of forest values. Therefore, the losses have reduced the overall value of Nova Scotia's forests. This represents a decline in natural wealth that will continue to impact future generations unless remedial action is taken. It is clearly demonstrated that by protecting the range of ecological services provided by forests, timber productivity and market values can be enhanced, the nature tourism industry can be strengthened, and forest-dependent communities can be protected. Above all, future generations will benefit from the restoration of the province's natural wealth.

References

Abramovitz, J.N. 1998. Sustaining the World's Forests. In, State of the World 1998, (ed.) L.R. Brown. Worldwatch Institute, W.W. Norton & Company Inc., New York.

Constanza, R., d'Arge, R., de Groot, R., Farber, S., Grasso, M., Hannon, B., Limburg, K., Naeem, S., O'Neill, R.V., Paruelo, J., Raskin, R.G., Sutton, P., and van den Belt, M. 1997. The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature. 387: 253-259.

Crawford, H.S., and Jennings, D.T. 1989. Predation by birds on spruce budworm Choristoneura fumiferana: functional, numerical, and total responses. Ecology. 70: 152-163.

de Groot, R. S. 1992. Functions of Nature: Evaluation of nature in environmental planning, management and decision making. Wolters-Noordhoff. Netherlands.

Loucks, O.L. 1962. Ordinating forest communities by means of environmental factors and phytosociological indices. Ecological Monographs. 32: 137-166.

Lutz, E. (ed.)1993. Toward Improved Accounting for the Enviroment. The World Bank. Washington, D.C.

Lynds, A. and LeDuc, J. 1995. Old Forests of Nova Scotia. Natural Resources Occasional Papers. Parks and Recreation Division, Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, Nova Scotia.

Myers, N. 1997. The World's Forests and their Ecosystem Services. In, Nature's Services: societal dependence on natural ecosystems, ed. by G.C. Daily. Island Press, USA.

Prugh, T., Costanza, R., Cumberland, J.H., Daly, H., Goodland, R., Norgaard, R.B. 1995. Natural Capital and Human Economic Survival. International Society for Ecological Economics Press. USA.

Repetto, R., Magrath, W., Wells, M., Beer, C., and Rossini, F. 1989. Wasting Assets: Natural resources in the National Income Accounts. World Resources Institute. Washington, D.C.

Su, Q., MacLean, D.A., and Needham, T.D. 1996. The influence of hardwood content on balsam fir defoliation by spruce budworm. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 26: 1620-1628.

Copyright © 1999, Sara Justine Wilson