The Social and Environmental Benefits of Manitoba’s Community Pastures

The report assesses the ecological goods and services (EGS) of 19 community pastures in Manitoba, Canada. It determines that these lands provide a total economic value ranging from $10.52 million to $18.88 million per year, depending on carbon pricing scenarios. The primary drivers of this value are forage production and carbon sequestration. The study emphasizes that sustainable management practices, such as rotational grazing, are essential for maintaining these benefits, which include biodiversity support, water retention, and rural economic development.

• The total economic value (TEV) of the 19 studied Manitoba community pastures is estimated between $10,517,051 and $18,884,171 per year, with the variation depending on the price of carbon used in the calculation.
• Carbon sequestration is a major component of the pastures' value; at a price of $25 per tonne of CO2, the net carbon sequestration value is $4.72 million per year after subtracting livestock emissions.
• Grazing services represent a significant portion of the TEV, contributing approximately $5.67 million annually, which accounts for 30% to 55% of the total economic value.
• The pastures provide substantial non-commercial benefits, including soil formation and conservation ($788,211), community development ($862,850), and recreation and hunting (combined approximately $1.18 million).
• Sustainable management practices, specifically adaptive rotational grazing and prescribed burns, are identified as critical for optimizing ecological goods and services and maintaining the land's role as a carbon sink.
• The community pastures serve as vital habitats for species at risk, including the prairie skink, Sprague's pipit, and chestnut-collared longspur.
• There is a significant gap in existing research regarding the non-use values of community pastures, such as existence and bequest values, and the specific economic impact of pollinators supported by these lands.

APA

Gunn, G., Kulshreshtha, S., & Roy, D. (2018). The Social and Environmental Benefits of Manitoba’s Community Pastures. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/social-environmental-benefits-manitoba-pastures.pdf

Chicago

Gunn, Geoffrey, Suren Kulshreshtha, and Dimple Roy. The Social and Environmental Benefits of Manitoba’s Community Pastures. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2018. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/social-environmental-benefits-manitoba-pastures.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gunn |first1=Geoffrey |last2=Kulshreshtha |first2=Suren |last3=Roy |first3=Dimple |title=The Social and Environmental Benefits of Manitoba’s Community Pastures |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=March 2018 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/social-environmental-benefits-manitoba-pastures.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gunn2018social, author = {Gunn, Geoffrey and Kulshreshtha, Suren and Roy, Dimple}, title = {{The Social and Environmental Benefits of Manitoba’s Community Pastures}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2018}, month = mar, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/social-environmental-benefits-manitoba-pastures.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }