Accounting for ecosystem change in Canada
1.0 Introduction
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Human Activity and the Environment 2021: Accounting for ecosystem change in Canada provides some of the latest statistics on the extent and condition of Canada’s ecosystems, as well as estimates of the supply and use of selected ecosystem services.
The increasing severity of global environmental issues are making it increasingly clear that economic and social health are dependent on maintaining ecosystems and the flows of services that they provide. But while today’s decision-making can count on very robust socio-economic data, getting a complete picture of the state of Canada’s ecosystems is difficult at the current time.
This report is the result of Statistics Canada’s work to start to make comprehensive information on Canada’s ecosystems more readily available. It is doing so by developing and implementing ecosystem accounts according to the new integrated and comprehensive statistical framework for ecosystem accounting adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission. The System of Environmental-Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA – EA) framework takes a spatial approach to accounting, by organizing existing data on the location and size of ecosystem assets, tracking changes in their condition, measuring ecosystem services and linking this information to economic and human activity.
According to the SEEA – EA:
Ongoing ecosystem accounts will allow insight into important, overarching questions on the relationship between the economy, society, and the environment and how we measure well-being and social progress. For example:
- What is the contribution of ecosystems and their services to the economy, social wellbeing, jobs and livelihoods?
- How is the condition, health and integrity of ecosystems and biodiversity changing over time and where are the main areas of degradation and enhancement?
- How can natural resources and ecosystems be best managed to ensure continued services and benefits such as energy, food supply, water supply, flood control, carbon storage and recreational opportunities?
- How should conservation efforts be targeted?
- What opportunities exist for the development of innovative incentive-based programs to conserve nature such as payment for ecosystem services?
- What do estimates of a nation’s wealth and economic potential look like once the state of its environment is considered?Note
Ecosystem accounting takes a spatial approach to accounting, organizing data on the location and size of ecosystem assets, tracking changes in their condition, measuring ecosystem services and linking this information to economic and human activity. It is designed to answer important questions on the relationship between the economy, society and the environment and how we measure well-being and social progress.Note Understanding, measuring and analyzing changes in the extent and condition of ecosystems and the impacts of these changes on ecosystem services allows for informed decision making that reflects a more comprehensive assessment of tradeoffs and impacts on human well-being.
This first effort to compile ecosystem accounts has uncovered data gaps and limitations in several areas. Data have been derived to present comprehensive and comparable statistics on ecosystems, with additional context from the literature. Further work and collaboration in identifying data priorities, data gathering and modeling are required to more fully report on Canada’s ecosystems and ecosystem services. The Census of Environment has begun to address these issues, and will work to develop a trusted knowledge base on ecosystems. This will include ongoing data on how the extent and conditions of Canada’s ecosystems are evolving over time.
The Human Activity and the Environment publications bring together data from many sources to present a statistical portrait of Canada’s environment, with special emphasis on human activity and its relationship to natural elements—air, water soil, plants and animals. Each issue provides accessible and relevant information on an environmental issue of concern to Canadians.
The report is organized as follows:
Section 1 – Introduction
Section 2 – Ecosystem extent and drivers of change describes the extent of Canada’s main terrestrial, freshwater, marine and coastal ecosystems, their defining characteristics, and changes in land use and climate that drive changes in these ecosystems and their condition.
Section 3 – Ecosystem condition presents data on selected abiotic, biotic and landscape and seascape ecosystem condition characteristics, including water storage and yield, ambient air quality, forest disturbance, urban greenness, landscape fragmentation and modification, sea surface temperature, salinity, species stock status, sea ice and seascape modification. Covering the whole range of condition characteristics for Canada’s many ecosystems is beyond the scope of this report—selected measures were included based on data availability. Some measures of condition relate to geographic areas, while others are specific to individual ecosystem types.
Section 4 – Supply and use of ecosystem services presents data on selected provisioning, regulating and cultural ecosystem services provided by Canada’s many ecosystems. Estimates are provided for the physical supply of provisioning services (e.g., crop production, fodder production, aquaculture production, wood production, wild animal harvests and water supply), regulating services (e.g., carbon sequestration and storage and air filtration) and use of recreation-related services.
Methodology and data limitations
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Textbox: What you need to know about this report
This report brings together many different sources is to provide the most complete picture possible of Canada’s ecosystems and changes in ecosystem condition and ecosystem services that will affect the health of the economy, society and human well-being. This has been accomplished through the use of ecosystem accounting, which involves the structured compilation of information on ecosystems such as forests, agro-ecosystems, wetlands, and marine and coastal areas, their condition or quality and the ecosystem services they provide, following the requirements of a coherent statistical framework.
The report is the result of Statistics Canada’s ongoing work to develop and implement ecosystem accounts according to the new integrated and comprehensive statistical framework for ecosystem accounting described in the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting–Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA – EA) that has been adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission.Note While there are multiple components of these accounts, this report focuses on available data that align with the following core ecosystem accounts:
- Ecosystem extent accounts organize data on the size and location of different types of ecosystems. They provide information on the composition of ecosystems within a country and their change over time. Ecosystems are defined by the interaction of their biotic and abiotic components including climate, topography, soils, vegetation, soil moisture, hydrology and species. However, the use of data on land cover and land use provide an operational way to delineate ecosystems and assess change.
- Ecosystem condition accounts organize biophysical data on the quality of ecosystems and provide information on how ecosystem condition is changing over time. These accounts use a number of different variables or indicators to report on selected abiotic and biotic ecosystem condition characteristics (e.g., species, vegetation, landscape pattern, soil and water characteristics), organized into six classes: physical, chemical, compositional, structural and functional state or landscape and seascape characteristics. Ecosystem condition accounts cover the ecosystem types included in the extent accounts.
- Ecosystem services supply and use accounts report flows of ecosystem services supplied by ecosystems and used by economic units (e.g., households, industry). They provide insights on the ecosystem benefits used and enjoyed by people and which contribute to individual and societal well-being. These accounts can be compiled in physical or monetary terms.
For more information, see: Canadian System of Environmental-Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounts (5331)
This report provides a number of new assessment approaches to help measure progress against United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It complements reporting for SDG 13 - Climate Action, 14 - Life Below Water and 15 - Life on Land.
Geographic units:
Much of the analysis on the extent and condition of terrestrial ecosystems is reported here at the ecoprovince level of the Ecological Land Classification, 2017 (Map 1.1). Canada’s 53 ecoprovinces are characterized by major assemblages of structural or surface forms, faunal realms, vegetation, hydrology, soil and macro climate and are a subdivision of larger ecozones.
Data on marine and coastal ecosystem are reported by marine ecoregion, which are ecologically defined regions of Canada’s oceans.Note
Data on freshwater ecosystems are reported at the drainage region level of the Standard Drainage Area Classification, 2003, which aggregates sub-sub-drainage areas into 25 regions flowing into five ocean drainage areas.
Urban-related data may be aggregated for population centres and for selected census metropolitan areas or census agglomerations.Note
Data on ecosystem services are reported at the national level and by province, ecozone or population centre, where available.
Data quality and fitness for use
Data for this report were gathered from a variety of sources. There were data gaps and differences in definitions, spatial and temporal coverage and resolution and methods, all of which can increase uncertainty in the estimates and limit comparability across space and time.
This report provides a high-level overview of these issues by applying concepts from the newly adopted System of Environmental-Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounting framework. While this report presents some of the latest statistics available on many subjects, new data and improved methodologies will continue to be integrated to improve the quality of the ecosystem accounts.
Further details on the sources, methodology, limitations and data gaps are available in Appendix A.
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