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Ecological Health 

What is ecological health? 

Ecological health reflects the essential link between human health and well-being and the health of the natural environment. Healthy, properly functioning natural systems are the foundation to the region’s economic prosperity, our collective quality of life and personal well-being. We rely on nature to provide a wide range of services, including the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat.


Metro Vancouver's Ecological Health Action Plan (EHAP)

The Ecological Health Action Plan describes how ecological health has been incorporated into Metro Vancouver’s suite of plans and strategies, and identifies a set of short-term actions within Metro Vancouver’s mandate that will contribute to the ecological health of the region. Included in the Action Plan are four overarching areas of opportunity: advancing green infrastructure, supporting salmon in the cities, supplementing ecosystem services and reducing toxics. These areas of opportunity provide the framework for 12 actionable projects. The projects represent investments in maintaining and improving the services provided by nature in the region. The projects will contribute to a much broader and on-going effort by many stakeholders within Metro Vancouver to improve ecological health. Making these investments will yield positive social and environmental benefits.

Ecological Health Action Plan
Ecological Health Action Plan
Ecosystem services are the benefits that nature provides to us for free – such as clean air, clean water, good soil for growing food, biodiversity, spaces for recreation and rejuvenation, and resources for the economy. In 2005, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA), a consortium of hundreds of scientists from over 70 nations, released the most extensive study of the links between human health and the world’s ecosystems. The MEA organizes ‘ecosystem services’ into four broad categories.

 Click on the diagram to find out more about the key ecosystem services in our region.

“Natural capital refers to the earth’s land, water, atmosphere and resources. This capital is organized and bundled within the earth’s natural ecosystems, which provide resources and flows of services that enable all life to prosper on earth. In Canada, this natural capital is critical to the economic and social well-being of Canadians.” 

from Natural Capital in BC's Lower Mainland: Valuing the Benefits from Nature

  Click on the map to learn more about the ecosystems we have working for us in our region.
Green infrastructure is the name given to natural systems which provide services to human populations that might otherwise require the creation and use the manufactured, or grey, infrastructure. Green infrastructure can assist, and in some cases, replace conventional engineered solutions or grey infrastructure.

Resources

Ecological Health Action Plan

 ‭(Hidden)‬ Other Strategies

 ‭(Hidden)‬ Related Links
  Canadian Biodiversity Information Network
  Convention on Biological Diversity
  Green Facts
  British Columbia Conservation Data Centre (CDC)
  Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

Fast Facts

Did you know...

  •  ‘Ecosystem Services’ are the services that nature gives for ‘free’ – providing the basics of life for all of us - clean air, clean water and healthy soils to produce food.
  • The Fraser River is the largest salmon producing river in the world, with as many as 10 million salmon returning in some years.
  • The Fraser River estuary, including Boundary Bay, and Roberts and Sturgeon Banks, provides internationally significant habitat for migrating birds along the Pacific Flyway - more than 2.3 million birds live or visit here each year.