Nature count : Nature counts

With major emphases on recent rural demographic and economic changes, human health, social benefits and the importance of natural assets to the rural and provincial economies, Nature Count$ provides a review of the socio- economic contributions of natural areas in southern Ontario. [...] However, even here, though the “relative importance of agriculture, fishing and forestry is declining,” the importance of “other ecosystem services, such as the aesthetics and enjoyment and recreational options is growing.”3 In Ontario, concerns about the sustainability of our ecosystems are particularly acute in the area of focus for this report – southern Ontario. [...] The need to understand the socio-economic role of natural areas in southern Ontario is important not only because of expectations for growth, but also because of the type of land ownership in this part of the Province. [...] With most natural heritage assets in southern Ontario privately-owned, an effective response to the challenge of greenspace loss will depend heavily on the voluntary actions of private landowners – and, by extension, in convincing local politicians and the general public that meeting the goals for stewardship and conservation is in the interest of everyone. [...] At the same time, changes in the demographic makeup of southern Ontario are forecast to dramatically change both the nature of the rural economy and the way in which Ontarians interact with the countryside.