Economist: Canada's forests do $93B/year

The environmental work of Canada's boreal forests in purifying air and water and the tourism dollars they generate are worth at least $93 billion a year, says an economist. That value should be taken into account when making decisions about logging, mining and other industrial activity that affects forests, Mark Anielski will urge delegates at the National Forest Congress opening in Lac Leamy, Quebec, on Monday. "It'll change the way decisions are made," said Anielski, an Edmonton-based economic consultant who specializes in sustainability. Canada is home to one-quarter of the world's forests. Boreal forests regulate the climate by capturing and storing an estimated 67 billion tons of carbon in Canada alone -- a job worth $1.8 billion, based on the price of carbon emissions from the global insurance industry. The water filtration and erosion control function of boreal peatlands is worth $77 billion, and forests also generate billions in tourist spending. That work is worth at least $160 per hectare but it's not recognized in national income accounts or the country's gross domestic product, Anielski said. He said a market valuation wouldn't rule out logging or oil development.