BC3-UPV/EHU Seminars: Valuing the Water Purification/Filtration Service of Temperate Coastal Rainforests in Southwestern British Columbia: A Stochastic Production Function Approach

BC3-UPV/EHU Seminars
“Valuing the Water Purification/Filtration Service of Temperate Coastal Rainforests in Southwestern British Columbia: A Stochastic Production Function Approach.“

Dr. Duncan Knowler

Simon Fraser University jointly with Ashley Page

Abstract

In many biodiversity rich forest areas, a lack of understanding exists concerning the tradeoffs between timber harvesting and maintaining ecosystem services, where losses of these services can occur as externalities from the timber harvest. Since these relationships are influenced by rainfall regime, it can be expected that knowledge of the tradeoffs can provide important information on the impacts of climate change. This study provides insight into such tradeoffs by estimating the value of a change in a forests water purification/filtration service in British Columbia (Canada), focusing on the improvement in the quality of water as the management emphasis shifts from timber harvesting to conservation for drinking water supply. We use an integrated economic-ecological model to quantify the economic impact of reduced forest road induced sedimentation on raw water quality prior to its arrival at a municipal water treatment plant. With respect to road-induced sedimentation, we consider traffic volume and aggregate road length. We find that the economic value of the water purification/filtration service is not as sensitive to traffic volume as it is to the aggregate road length. Our analysis will be helpful to forest planners who must consider the tradeoffs in forest management when timber harvesting can have harmful impacts on important ecosystem services, such as water purification/filtration.