Valuing forests

Pop science tells us that the human body, broken down into its component elements (like oxygen, hydrogen, potassium and iron), is worth about $4.50. This ‘fun fact’ raises a smile, because of course we all know that in reality a human being is priceless.

Forests can be viewed the same way. For many years, the value of a forest has been calculated based on its component resources, like timber, woodchips, pulp, organic products, and simply the land it occupies. However, as awareness of climate change grows, the value of forests is being reconsidered: they may be worth more as an intact holistic entity than broken down for their ‘parts’. Added to this is a burgeoning understanding that a forest has a spiritual value above and beyond its dollar price. ‘Tangible assets’ are being reconsidered as ‘metaphysical assets’.

So what changes have affected our value system? Over the last 50 years, the reality of human-induced climate change (‘global warming’) has been demonstrated both theoretically and practically. Most people now have a basic understanding of the biosphere, and the fact that trees take away much of the pollution that human civilization creates. In previously skeptical financial markets, Sir Nicholas Stern’s review on the economics of climate change has galvanized a new enthusiasm for the mitigation of global warming. Recently, thanks to documentaries like Al Gore’s ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, ordinary people have come to understand how they - personally - can help prevent environmental catastrophe.