TAPPING INTO A GREENER ECONOMY

Alex Ballingall looks at a report that puts a $3.2B revenue tag on Greenbelt lands

Flourishing flora and fauna may be enough for dyed-in-the-grass environmentalists, but when it comes to demonstrating the benefits of protecting natural land, sometimes it’s best to speak in the language of dollars and cents.

That’s the idea behind the latest report from the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, which smacks an annual revenue tag on the 800,000-hectare band of protected land around the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Areas. The foundation commissioned the Smart Prosperity Institute and Green Analytics — firms that look at economics through a green lens — to crunch the numbers. Their conclusion is that, every year, the Greenbelt is worth $3.2 billion. Here’s a look at part of what went into that evaluation.