Natural Capital: introduction and policy context Maggie Charnley, - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

N atural C apital C ommittee Natural Capital: introduction and policy context Maggie Charnley, Defra Head of Natural Capital Committee Secretariat

N atural C apital C ommittee Overview • Government policy background • Definition of natural capital • Why natural capital? • The Natural Capital Committee • Government’s 25 year plan for the environment

N atural C apital C ommittee Background The NCC’s third State of “We set up the NCC to put The Natural Environment The National Ecosystem hard economic numbers on Natural Capital report White Paper (2011) noted Assessment(2011) the value of our environment, (2015) recommended a healthy natural indicated that natural and we will extend its life to at that Government environment is the capital benefits have least the end of the next foundation of sustained produce a clear 25-year been under-valued in Parliament. We will work with economic growth and plan to enhance the it to develop a 25 Year Plan to economic decisions. wellbeing, initiating the environment (natural restore the UK’s biodiversity, concept of valuing nature. capital). and to ensure that both public and private investment in the environment is directed where we need it most” . 3

N atural C apital C ommittee Conservative 2015 manifesto commitment To be the first generation to leave the natural environment in a better state than it inherited To work with the Natural Capital Committee to develop a 25 year plan for the environment 4

N atural C apital C ommittee The goal To improve the environment within a generation 5

N atural C apital C ommittee What do we mean by natural capital? Natural capital refers to the stock of natural assets ( … .forests, rivers, land, minerals and oceans) which provide valuable benefits to people such as clean air and water, timber, food and recreation. “Nature gives us everything for free – let’s put it at the heart of everyday economic life” 6

N atural C apital C ommittee Why natural capital? • Drives integration Recognises the environment is a system where individual components (e.g, trees) provide multiple benefits. It encourages better management – catchment level; • Drives sustainability NC provides a stock perspective rather than short-term benefit flows, which encourages looking after assets for the long term eg soil; • Drives greater environmental improvement Valuing NC facilitates prioritisation between policies / projects, using a common comparable currency to understand the inevitable trade-offs involved. Delivers greater environmental improvement for given resource. 7

Initial habitat accounts: woodland • Published in UK Env-Accounts • Four services: Timber, Carbon sequestration, Air filtration, Recreation. • Timber removals (flows) have increased in the last few years whilst carbon sequestration has fallen over 2007-14 period. • Estimates of service values increase by an order of 30 when scope is widened to include cultural and regulation services

N atural C apital C ommittee NCC work: past • 1 st term – defined what was needed: how to measure; how to value. • Advice to Government: – The unsustainable use of natural assets – The need to measure, value and incorporate into accounts – key to better management – How action to protect and improve natural capital should be prioritised (including priority investment cases) – Research priorities • Proposed a 25-year environment plan

N atural C apital C ommittee NCC work: present • 2 nd term – turning it into practice: – Advising and reporting on 25-YEP: identifying the prize (25-year vision) – ‘How to do it’ manual: practical steps and case studies – National natural capital accounts with ONS – Demonstrating natural capital in practice: Pioneers and other local partnerships – Use as templates for national roll-out

N atural C apital C ommittee How to do it Manual: initial thoughts

N atural C apital C ommittee And finally: update on the 25-Year Environment Plan • To deliver manifesto commitment to improve the environment within a generation. • Key areas of action and key design principles broadly agreed (shown on next slide). • Based around a natural capital approach • Pioneers launched – testing ideas and approaches • Aligning Defra group boundaries • Initial Green Paper Framework to be published shortly, for consultation • Full plan in 2017.

N atural C apital C ommittee 25 YEP: principles

N atural C apital C ommittee Contact Email: naturalcapitalcommittee@defra.gsi.gov.uk