Natural capital underpins insurance markets, real estate, agriculture, and infrastructure resilience, not to speak of providing clean air and water, carbon storage and more.
Since its creation in 1995, Canada’s Ecological Gifts Program has resulted in over 2,000 gifts being safeguarded in perpetuity with over 260,000 hectares protected, at an assessed value of $1.4 billion. But, how can we embrace the overall value of conservation and environmental protection in Canada? Traditional accounting systems or measurements of GDP do not include the total value of nature. Because many of these services are not traded in markets, their value is largely invisible in standard economic accounting, leading to chronic undervaluation in policy and investment decisions.
“Recognizing the full economic value of nature would help align environmental stewardship with economic planning. Efforts like ecosystem accounting seek to incorporate natural capital into national statistics, a step toward ensuring that nature’s contributions are considered alongside GDP and other traditional metrics.” — (Valuing Nature, United Nations Environment Program)
Canada’s forests, wetlands, coastal ecosystems and healthy and productive soils generate hundreds of billions of dollars in economic value each year. Yet, almost none of it appears on financial statements. Natural capital underpins insurance markets, real estate, agriculture, and infrastructure resilience, not to speak of providing clean air and water, carbon storage, flood regulation, pollination, recreation, and more.
“Conservation of natural capital provides immense, often undervalued, economic and ecological benefits— estimated in the billions for regional networks—by providing essential services like water purification, flood mitigation, carbon storage, and crop pollination. Protecting these assets is more cost-effective than engineering solutions”.—(Unlocking the Economic Power of Natural Climate Solutions)
“Canada is a freshwater superpower, with over two million lakes, thousands of rivers, and roughly 20% of the world’s freshwater supply.”— (International Institute for Sustainable Development)
- According to the most recent data from Statistics Canada (2023), Canada’s coastal and ocean ecosystems alone generated an estimated $7.1 billion in ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration, fisheries, and tourism.
- Research from Queen’s University estimates that Canadian wetlands provide approximately $225 billion annually in ecosystem services—roughly 8% of national GDP in equivalent value.
- Federal analysis from Environment and Climate Change Canada estimates that the ecological services of Canada’s boreal region, including carbon storage, water filtration, and flood control, exceed $500 billion per year.
- Worldwide, approximately $78 trillion (or over half) of global GDP is moderately to highly dependent on nature. — (Unearthing Value, RBC, Lisa Ashton 2025)
Clearly, Canadian ecosystems generate hundreds of billions in economic value annually. Their degradation puts us in a position of financial risk.
“Conservation of natural capital provides immense economic and ecological benefits, estimated in the billions of dollars for regional networks, by providing essential services like water purification, flood mitigation, carbon storage, and crop pollination. Protecting these assets is more cost-effective than engineering solutions.” — (Natural Capital Commission)
Multiple areas of impact
Here are just a handful of sectors across the country impacted by nature:
Insurance: Flood and wildfire losses are influenced by land use and ecosystem conditions. When wetlands are drained, there might short-term benefits, but years later, higher flood damage appears in insurance claims and municipal budgets.
Real estate and infrastructure: Asset values depend on landscape stability and climate resilience.
Agriculture: Soil productivity, pollination, and water systems are critical qualities.
Forestry and fisheries: are directly dependent on ecosystem health
Utilities: Watershed degradation increases water treatment and reliability costs. As ecosystems decline, these sectors face higher capital expenditures.
The economic risks of ignoring natural capital
Failing to account for natural capital carries real economic risk. Degradation of natural systems creates costs in other parts of the economy; including higher water treatment expenses, increased flood damage, and losses in tourism and fisheries.
Climate resilience is jeopardized when natural buffers like wetlands and forests are undervalued or destroyed and opportunities for nature-based solutions (like natural flood defenses) are missed when ecosystems aren’t seen as economic assets.
Key benefits of conserving natural capital
- Cost savings and infrastructure replacement: Natural, intact ecosystems often provide services more cheaply than engineered, man-made infrastructure. Examples include wetland restoration for flood control and water purification.
- Economic value of green spaces: Conservation areas and green networks provide direct monetary benefits, including agricultural products, timber, and increased property values (3-9% higher near protected land).
- Essential ecosystem services: These include air filtration, climate regulation, and pollination of crops.
- Health and well-being: Access to natural areas provides recreational opportunities and improved public health.
Celebrating more than 30 years of conservation
In its own small way, the Ecological Gifts Programhelps to play an important role in protecting the country’s natural capital.
Since 1995, the program, administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada, has enabled individual and corporate landowners to protect cherished pieces of nature by donating ecologically-sensitive lands to eligible recipients. Many of these areas are of provincial or national significance, and home to species at risk.
Qualified donations of ecologically sensitive land or easements, covenants and servitudes are eligible for special tax benefits. Made possible by the Income Tax Act of Canada and the Quebec Taxation Act, the Ecological Gifts Program offers significant tax benefits to owners who donate land or an interest in land.
Learn more about the Ecological Gifts Program.
Natasha van Bentum is a senior outreach and legacy advisor to the conservation and environmental sector. She acknowledges the partial use of ChatGPT in conducting some initial research, which was reviewed and verified by the author. Contact Natasha, vanbentum@gmail.com.
Postscript from the author: Good news for Canada. On March 31st, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a $3.8 billion nature strategy which included creation of an Expert Taskforce on Natural Capital Accounting and Nature Financing.The taskforce will explore “how to better account for the value of nature and how to integrate it into decision-making. It will also recommend new policies, incentives, and financing tools that encourage businesses and investors to support conservation.”
Additional resources:
“Improving Natural Capital Accounting in Canada”
“The Value of Natural Capital in Canada’s National Parks and National Marine Conservation Areas”
World Bank: “Natural Capital”
