[Pollinator] value of pollination to agriculture in the Credit River watershed (part of southern Ontario) - $4 million/year

[Victoria MacPhail]

The Credit Valley Conservation Authority manages the Credit River watershed
in southern Ontario.  It recently released a report  entitled Natural Credit
- Estimating the Value of Natural Capital in the Credit River Watershed,
which included a section on the value of pollination to agriculture.  See
http://www.creditvalleycons.com/bulletin/downloads/CVC-NaturalCreditReport.pdf,
pages 36, 40, 41 in particular.  Excerpted passage below:



“The value of agriculture occurring in the Credit River Watershed, which
would not exist without the pollination services of insects, was calculated
using estimates of the reliance on various crops on insects and the value
generated by those crops within the watershed (as per the 2006 agricultural
census). As a result, pollination services were estimated to be almost $4
million per year.”



The per capita value of pollination was estimated at $5/year (or about 1% of
the $490/capita/year for the entire watershed).



The Credit River flows from its origins in Orangeville to Lake Ontario at
Port Credit in the City of Mississauga. The watershed covers an area of
almost 1,000 square kilometres and has a population of 757,600.  The Credit
River Watershed is also an important sub-component of the Great Lakes Basin.
Its most notable natural capital resources include wetlands, upland forests
and water.  For more information on the Credit River or the Credit Valley
Conservation Authority, check out www.creditvalleyca.ca.





Victoria MacPhail

vmacphail at gmail.com
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