Indicators:

• The number of individual ecosystem types for which Statistics Canada has published national-scale data tables

• The number and extent of individual ecosystem types for which Statistics Canada has published national-scale map layers

• The number of ecosystem services for which there is national-scale data

About the Target

“Natural capital” and “ecosystem services” are terms used to characterize how the natural environment supports human well-being. Natural capital refers to ecosystem structures as “stocks” of resources that provide flows of goods and services that human societies depend on, including “ecosystem services” such as flood mitigation and water purification, among others.

While natural capital assets and the ecosystem services they generate are critical to human health and well-being, they have not traditionally been accounted for in national statistical systems. Doing so can help incorporate the condition, health and integrity of ecosystems and biodiversity as key elements in measuring well-being and social progress. This in turn will inform work to prevent and reverse biodiversity loss and degradation to ensure that ecosystems can continue to support society through the goods and services they provide, such as food, clean water, air purification and climate regulation.

Canada Target 17 is linked with the following global Aichi target under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020:

• Aichi Target 2 - By 2020, at the latest, biodiversity values have been integrated into national and local development and poverty reduction strategies and planning processes and are being incorporated into national accounting, as appropriate, and reporting systems.

2020 Final Assessment

Since 2017, Statistics Canada has continued to bring together data from many sources to organize available data according to the new integrated and comprehensive statistical framework for ecosystem accounting described in the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting–Ecosystem Accounting[i] that has been adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission.

Improvements have been made over the period including coverage of ecosystem types and services. A comprehensive picture of ecosystem extent and condition, along with the supply and use of some ecosystem services has been published.[ii] However, it is recognized that data are frequently inconsistent or unavailable across time and space, that there are many gaps and methods, and estimates may change in the future.

The target has been met given that measures have been developed at a national scale and progress has been made in integrating them into Canada’s national statistical system. However, work continues in developing and improving modelling, estimation methods and consistency, and data availability across time and space. For example, the development of ecosystem service accounts, which compile information on the services provided by ecosystems and their use by people, is preliminary and methods are still being developed.

[i] United Nations (2022) System of Environmental-Economic Accounting — Ecosystem Accounting.

[ii] Statistics Canada (2022) Human Activity and the Environment 2021: Accounting for ecosystem change in Canada

Contributing Actions

Canada is actively involved in the revision of the UN System of Environmental-Economic Accounting–Ecosystem Accounting and participates in the work of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Canadian officials have provided training in national environmental accounting to other countries such as China, Malaysia, and Chile.

The Ecosystem Services Partnership is an international network of scientists, policy makers and practitioners who share knowledge and collaborate with other professionals working on the science, policy, and practice of ecosystem services. The work of the network includes workshops, conferences, journal articles, policy briefs and case studies. One of the working groups focuses on analysis of the relations between biodiversity and other ecosystem properties with ecosystem functioning to better understand, and predict, the capacity of ecosystems to provide ecosystem services. At the 2019 Ecosystem Services Partnership 10th World Conference, there was a session on quantifying the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Swiss Re Institute recently launched a  Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Index (BES) recognizing the importance of natural habitats, understanding their value and including biodiversity and ecosystem services in risk assessments and decision making. The BES aggregates data from across ten different categories—including habitat intactness, local air quality and climate regulation, erosion control and coastal protection.

Swiss Re considers locations with high BES Index values to be "intact" ecosystems, with high capacity to provide ecosystem services. In contrast, locations with low BES Index values are where capacity to deliver services has been compromised due to biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. Although Canada has a very high BES Index value overall, some areas within the country score very low.

The BES Index can help to guide decisions regarding natural assets and resilience to climate change impacts by assessing the state of biodiversity and ecosystem services and can also inform efforts to restore and preserve ecosystems.