Natural Capital Valuation 

Natural Capital of the Elephant Hill Wildfire Area

The Elephant Hill Wildfire of 2017 was hugely destructive and disruptive to SRSS communities. It also affected the natural capital of the area, including valuable ecosystem services that the SRSS communities rely upon.  There is increasing recognition that losses of ecosystem services represent tangible economic impacts.  SRSS engaged Solstice Sustainability Works to conduct a natural capital valuation of the affected area.

Solsticeworks, together with Earth Economics and Michelle Molnar Consulting, worked closely with SRSS and used well-established ecological economics approaches to value the ecosystem services. The research team focused on benefits for the communities that make up SRSS – material benefits such as wild food, but also non-material benefits related to biodiversity, culture and well-being. Nature’s services also include clean water supply, clean air, and prevention of landslides and floods that also benefit people beyond the local communities.

The report, Natural Capital of the Elephant Hill Wildfire Area: Valuation of the ecosystem services affected by the 2017 Elephant Hill fire  , shows that, prior to the fire, nature in the Elephant Hill fire area was providing ecosystem services for SRSS communities estimated from $500 million to nearly $1 billion annually.  These services were profoundly affected by the fire. In addition, there was a one-time loss of carbon already stored in forests and soils worth approximately $1.5 billion.

Since the valuation produced quite wide estimates in some areas, the research team recommended ways to refine the estimates, such as updated mapping of streams, water quality monitoring, and hydrological modelling, as well as locally driven research on how climate change is affecting plant and animal health, and cultural practices.

SRSS communities are already deeply engaged in restoration and stewardship practices that contribute to regeneration or avoid further damage to nature in the burn area.  The study suggests that continued investment in these maintenance activities is likely to have a positive impact on natural capital values. 

The natural capital valuation of the Elephant Hill fire area makes visible, in economic terms, the magnitude of the wildfire’s impact on the land and the people who live in relationship with it.

(click here for report)