Old-growth forest protections could save BC billions, study determines

A recent study—which piggybacks off one conducted in Port Renfrew in 2020—found that the province could save tens of billions of dollars long-term by protecting remaining old-growth forests.

The Port Renfrew study found that it was more economically sound to keep old-growth trees in the ground when multiple services—not just timber production—are considered.

Researchers at ESSA, an environmental consulting firm, sought to find out if this was the case for other old-growth forests in BC. They selected timber supply areas (TSA) in Prince George and the Okanagan Valley to evaluate.

Their models showed that “fully protecting” old growth forests for the next 100 years in the Prince George TSA could yield an additional $33B in net economic benefits when compared to the current approach (no extra deferrals), while in the Okanagan TSA, the net benefit could be $10B. In Port Renfrew, the benefits would be $40B.

The modelled scenarios considered economic benefits from multiple ecosystem services provided by old growth forests, including timber harvest, carbon storage and sequestration, tourism, recreation, non-timber forest products, coho salmon habitat, real estate values, and education/research opportunities.

The net benefits of these ecosystem services when forests are left intact were then compared to the net benefits of the business-as-usual model.

Even when modelling some—not 100%—protections, there were still far more long-term economic benefits than logging old-growth could provide.

Climate regulating superheroes

One of the main cost-saving aspects of old-growth forests is the ability to regulate temperatures. These forests store more water and provide more shade, offering a cooling climate—and a fire resistant one.

Leaving old-growth as is can reduce the risks and costs of wild-fire season, which the province spends $1B+ on average fighting every year.

The forests are also powerful carbon sequesters. If old-growth management is kept as is, there will be a net loss in carbon capturing. But if protections are fully implemented in the Okanagan and Prince George TSAs, it would result in keeping 28M tonnes more carbon out of the atmosphere compared to no extra deferrals.

The study also notes that the values laid out don’t account for more amorphous benefits like cultural values and habitats for other species, which could save even more money in the long run.

“What we report in this technical brief are underestimates of the value of these free services,” the study reads.

Tourists flock to BC’s natural landscape

The province has long relied on its natural beauty to sell it as a tourist haven—“Super, Natural BC” has been the tag line for Destination BC for years now—and protecting old-growth in full keeps those visitor dollars flowing.

Tourism value in Port Renfrew was the most significant cost benefit for that study; Prince George and the Okanagan didn’t quite have the same role for dollars brought in. Still, Prince George would bring in $350M+ while the Okanagan brings in $500M if old-growth forests are protected fully over 100 years.

Advancing research

The study also noted that intact old-growth forests offer education and research opportunities “that other types of forests do not.”

“On Vancouver Island, this potential is high given the relatively large number of nearby research institutions that host forestry and/or natural resource management departments,” researchers wrote in the 2020 study. This was also found to be the case in the recent study.