A Multi-Scale Modelling Approach to Valuing Ecosystem Services In and Around Long Point Biosphere Region

Abstract

Ecosystem services are the benefits that humans derive from ecosystems, and they deliver significant economic value to local and global beneficiaries, yet they are often underrepresented in conventional economic decision-making. Valuing ecosystem services makes the contributions of nature visible in decision-making arenas, which supports holistic evaluation of tradeoffs in the policy-making process. The objective of this study is to value diverse ecosystem services at three scales around Long Point Biosphere Region, which is a protected area along the north shore of Lake Erie and part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. To address this objective, this study employs replacement cost and benefit transfer methods to conduct these valuations. The results of this study show, first, that the value of stormwater retention services provided by natural assets in Port Dover, a township near Long Point Biosphere Region, was found to be at least 2.6 million 2025 CAD per year. Second, the value of nutrient retention services provided by natural assets in the Long Point Region watershed was found to be at least 2.7 million 2025 CAD per year. Third, the value of a bundle of ecosystem services in the Long Point Biosphere Region Core was found to be 8 million to 87 million 2025 CAD per year. Each model was evaluated for resemblance to likely real-world ecosystem conditions. This analysis found that models for Port Dover and the Biosphere Core were defensible, while the model for the larger watershed was too different from likely real-world ecosystem conditions. These models are important to build narratives about the economic value of local ecosystems to community members, but cannot be used empirically in the absence of formal model validation.