Learning Centre on Experimental Ecosystem Accounting
Art Ridgeway
Statistics Canada

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 Two-year project involving five federal departments
• 60 experts in various domains involved
• Statistics Canada co-leading with Environment Canada
 Objectives:
• Create spatial standards and classifications
• Standardize existing spatial data
• Develop pilot ecosystem accounts for terrestrial, wetland and marine ecosystems
• Investigate methods for valuation of ecosystem goods and services
 Test methods in pilot accounts
• Publish results in a research study (Fall 2013)
Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada 2020-04-10

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 An existing spatial unit (the “soil landscape unit”) has been chosen as the basic collection/organization unit for spatial data
 250 metre resolution satellite data for 2000-2011 have been acquired and processed
 National shoreline, drainage region, road network, settlement, landcover, elevation maps, etc, have been integrated into a common GIS database
 2011 population and dwelling counts have been reaggregated to soil landscape units
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 A nested hierarchy created from new and pre-existing spatial units:
• Basic Statistical Units (many)
•
Landcover Ecosystem Units (many)
• Soil Landscapes Units (12,924)
• Ecodistricts (1021)
• Ecoregions (194)
• Ecoprovinces (53)
• Ecozones(15)
 The “Basic Statistical Unit” (BSU) is defined by the overlay of the 250 m satellite grid cells on the whole country
 BSU’s are aggregated to create “Landcover Ecosystem Units” taking into account the land cover, the elevation, and terrain ruggedness within grid cells
• LEU’s are the closest to what would normally be called an
“ecosystem”
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Ecosystem Statistical Units: Spatial attributes
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 Case study: Ecosystem goods and services in
St. Lawrence Islands National Park
• One of the smallest national parks in Canada, fragmented and discontinuous
• Pilot account includes:
 Descriptive information
 Landcover
 Maps of external pressures
 Ecosystem socio-economic profile
 Value of ecosystem goods and services
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 Marine ecosystem goods and services
• First time that Canada’s coastal “ecumene” has been delineated
• Pilot account includes:
 Population employed and income generated
 Landed catch and value data by fishing zone
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Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada 2020-04-10

Total Biomass Extraction 2006
Species Group
Groundfish
Shellfish
Pelagics
Other
Total
Metric tonnes
108,948.7
464,519.0
261,385.3
46,772.8
881,625.8
Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Zonal Interchange Format File (ZIFF) Catch and Effort Database.
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Population Employed in Fishing Industry – Distance from shore
2006
Percent Population Working in Fishing Industry of the Total
Population Working in the Fishing Industry With Distance from Shoreline
100,0
95,8
96,6
95,0
92,6
94,5
90,0
85,1
85,0
80,0
5 km 10 km 15 km 20 km 25 km
*Percent was calculated using population working in fishing industries within 100 km of shoreline.
Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada 2020-04-10

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 Researching estimates for nutrient processing, carbon sequestration and surface water flow attenuation services
• Estimating population pressures, population benefits and possible replacement costs associated with these services
 Case study on the Assiniboine River drainage basin
• Researching up-scaling, value transfer, metaanalysis, indicator values, biophysical estimation
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 Prepared a geo-referenced version of
Environment Canada’s existing Environmental
Valuation Resource Inventory (EVRI)
 Developing a benefits transfer process flow
• Incorporates:
 existing ecosystem goods and services studies from the EVRI and elsewhere (geo-referenced);
 biophysical attributes of ecosystems (e.g. land cover) from the MEGS “common GIS database”
 geo-referenced socio-economic data from census;
 St. Lawrence Islands National Park case study area will provide a test case
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St. Lawrence Islands National
Park ecosystem boundary
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 Statistics Canada has allocated some funds to produce a Freshwater Ecosystem Account over the next two years.
 Statistics Canada has been invited by
Environment Canada to contribute to the new
Inter-Governmental Platform on Biodiversity and
Ecological Services (IPBES)
Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada 2020-04-10