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Valuable Thoughts
Publication: New Zealand Journal of Forestry, Volume N.Z.J.For. 2010, Issue N.Z.J.For. 55(2) 2010, pp 18-20, Aug 2010Publisher: New Zealand Institute of Forestry
Abstract: Cris Brack raises questions over how we value forests and suggests we need a whole new approach to take account of the “essential services” they provide We all know that forests are valuable, but it seems that as a profession we are still struggling to quantify the true magnitude of this value and present convincing figures to our fellow citizens. The 2010 NZIF conference last June set out to explore the true value of forests with a particular desire to address the commercial, environmental, cultural and community aspects of this value. Throughout the conference and the associated workshops various metrics and tools were introduced that attempted to capture and quantify parts of this picture, and pretty much each of these presentations concluded that there was much more to forest value than “just” the timber or chipwood tonnage. For example, James Turner and his colleagues concluded that the estimated economic gain to the region from mountain biking in the Whakarewarewa forests was “...five times the annual revenue from timber production in the forest...”