Ontario’s Good Fortune: Appreciating the Greenbelt’s Natural Capital

Ontario’s Greenbelt provides major benefits to residents across the Greater Golden Horseshoe, from recreation and flood protection to cleaner air and water. This report estimates the value derived from the Greenbelt’s natural capital, establishes a baseline natural capital accounting framework that can be maintained and built upon over time, and presents an approach to help decision makers identify and measure the benefits derived from natural capital. The framework developed in this study can be updated with new data, used to capture changes over time, and applied to land use management and policy decisions.

Using the National Ecosystem Services Classification System, the report identifies a series of ecosystem service accounts that directly benefit residents – for example bird watching, flood protection, and clean air to breathe.

Key Findings

Recreational activities valued at $2.1B per year
$224M per year in flood protection for private property
$52M per year in carbon sequestration

Overall, the report estimates that the Greenbelt delivers $3.2 billion in ecosystem services every year, making it an irreplaceable resource critical for the future of the province.

Understanding the value of ecosystem services, who benefits from them, and how values change depending on how the landscape is managed, is important information for land use planners and decision makers responsible for managing natural assets, as well as communities benefiting from those services. By applying the latest assessment tools in natural capital valuation, the report provides a case study and template for municipalities to establish their own natural capital evaluations.

Ontario’s Good Fortune: Appreciating the Greenbelt’s Natural Capital

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