Economics of protecting wilderness areas and old-growth timber in British Columbia

Abstract

This study examines the costs and benefits of preserving old-growth forests in British Columbia. Estimates of the present worth of old growth in timber production are compared with the measurable non-timber benefits from preserving old-growth, with the differences between the commercial timber and measureable non-timber values attributed to the unmeasured components of non-timber values. Economic efficiency benefits are then compared with benefits that accrue in other accounts used to analyze decisions. For reasonable values of non-timber values, current levels of wilderness protection (and thus of old growth) are more than adequate on the Coast, but an increase in wilderness area of 1.6 million ha (or some 80 000 ha of old growth) might be economically justifiable. -Author