Canada’s Wealth of Natural Capital: Rouge National Park

In 2012, the federal government committed to permanently protecting much of the Rouge area by establishing Canada’s first urban National Park in the Rouge. Canada’s Wealth of Natural Capital: Rouge National Park produced by the David Suzuki Foundation, uses valuation techniques from the field of natural capital economics to estimate the economic value of the ecosystem services and benefits produced by various types of ecosystems found within the Rouge area.

In 2012, the federal government committed to permanently protecting much of the Rouge area by establishing Canada’s first urban National Park in the Rouge.

Key findings include:

The Rouge and its surrounding watersheds provide an estimated $115.6 million in non-market economic benefits each year, including $12.5 million a year in benefits from the approximately 6,000-hectare proposed Rouge National Park.

Forests provide the greatest value at $41.2 million per year, wetlands provide an annual value of $34.9, and idle agricultural land provides $18.2 million per year.

The ecosystem services that contribute most to the total study area’s natural capital assets are pollination services worth $28.2 million per year, stored carbon worth $17.8 million per year, and wetland habitat worth $17.1 million per year.

These findings demonstrate that the Rouge and its surrounding watersheds are a vital ecological and economic resource that offers vast benefits to millions of GTA residents each year. This stock of natural capital cleans the air, filters the water, cools nearby communities, and provides a critical natural corridor from the Oak Ridges Moraine to the shores of Lake Ontario. To ensure the Rouge’s ecological health and economic value is maintained in the long term, this report provides recommendations for legal, policy, and conservation efforts.