Sep 25, 2006

Canadian forests do $93B worth of pollution control per year: economist

"Canada is home to one-quarter of the world's forests.

Boreal forests regulate the climate by capturing and storing an estimated 67 billion tonnes 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."

Link