Published by: Ancient Forest Alliance
Authored by: Cedar Morton, Ryan Trenholm, and Sarah Beukema (ESSA Technologies); Richard Boyd; and Duncan Knowler, Simon Fraser University
This economic study, conducted by environmental consulting firm ESSA Technologies and co-authored by Simon Fraser University associate professor Duncan Knowler, reveals old-growth forests are worth more standing than logged when considering the many economic benefits their ecosystem services provide.
Using Port Renfrew as a case study, this cost-benefit analysis compares carbon storage/sequestration, recreation, tourism, coho salmon habitat, non-timber forest products like floral greenery and mushrooms, and research/education opportunities to timber harvest and concludes that society is better off when old-growth forests are protected rather than logged.
The analysis is the first of its kind on Vancouver Island and presents an important opportunity for the BC government to acknowledge the many economic benefits that old-growth forests provide, beyond their timber value, and the need for a paradigm shift in BC’s forest sector that benefits the economy as well as BC’s ecology.
