News

The final report of the Ecosystem Market Task Force is now available:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/ecosystem-markets/work/publications-reports

The report states the business case for why nature matters. It makes practical recommendations for both Government and business where interventions would help in the creation and development of new markets, enhancing opportunities for growth that also benefit the environment. One of its recommendations is biodiversity offsetting, but only when impacts are ‘unavoidable’ and can be ‘more than compensated’ for. The task force acknowledges the difficulities in applying this approach in practice. It has highlighted that initial implementation of offsetting through a mandatory pilot scheme for planning authorities will provide vital evidence on its future potential across the country.

The James Hutton Institute has now joined as a fourth core partner in the Natural Capital Initiative. The Institute is brand new international research centre based in Scotland. It one of the Scottish Government’s main research providers in environmental, crop and food science. The other core partners are Society of Biology, the British Ecological Society and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.

The Times journalist Tom Whipple attended the launch of the Natural Capital Committee (NCC) at the Royal Society on Monday 26th November 2012. His article, following discussions at the event with Defra Secretary of State Owen Paterson MP and an interview with NCC Chair Dieter Helm state that:

'Economists have begun preparing to include a value for 'natural capital' in Britain's GDP calculations by 2020, a move that promises to be the greatest change in national accounting practices since their creation 70 years ago. The idea might not have poetry in its soul but Owen Parterson, the Environment Secretary, argued at the Royal Society this week that putting a monetary value on nature could be the best way to save the poetry- and soul of that nature for future generations'

The full article is available, on subsciption, at the Times online.

On Monday 26th November in a meeting at the Royal Society, the Natural Capital Committee announced their work streams, including the production of an annual State of Natural Capital Report, the first of which would be published in February 2013. This report will provide information for the Economic Affairs Committee (chaired by the Chancellor of the Exchequer) on the status of natural capital in England. The State of natural Capital Report, which will be a non-comprehensive pilot report, is set to establish:

• What natural capital assets there are and which of these are the most important to human wellbeing and the economy
• Which natural capital assets are being exploited unsustainably
• How to best integrate information on natural capital into national accounts, working with Defra and the Office of National Statistics to develop the relevant acounting mechanisms and indicators. In addition they will work with businesses (including land owners and managers) to explore the development of corporate natural capital accounting; and,
• Advice for academics and Research Councils to identify research priorities that will improve future advice on managing natural assets

To read more click here, or visit the Natural Capital Committee website.

International leaders from business, government and NGOs gathered in Singapore to celebrate the official launch of the new TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) for Business Coalition Headquarters, whose aim is to achieve a shift in corporate behaviour to preserve and enhance, rather than deplete the earth’s natural capital.

The Collation was launched by Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Environment and Water Resources, Singapore, who stated, “I am very glad to have launched the TEEB for Business Coalition here in Singapore, because for all the significant challenges, the only way that we are going to solve them is through a coalition of all the different stakeholders. It is absolutely essential that we get the economics right and the economics has to extend to biodiversity and to the environment.”

The Coalition brings together global stakeholders to study and standardise methods for natural capital accounting to enable its valuation and reporting in business. This is the business application of the G8+5 and UNEP supported TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) programme, led by Pavan Sukhdev. This provides a compelling economic case for the conservation of natural capital and is the cornerstone of current Green Economy policy.

For more information on the launch in Singapore, click here.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has released a report titled "Potential Effects of Climate Change on Crop Pollination," which stresses the central role of pollination in food systems and in conserving genetic diversity, and examines how climate change may impact the provision of pollination services.

The report stresses that the potential interactions between climate change and pollination are poorly understood and that more information is needed. It develops a framework for building greater knowledge on the topic by elaborating on data needs and recommendations.

To visit the FAO website click here, and to view the publication click here.

The report investigates the concept of materiality and how it is used to identify issues for management and disclosure. It is aimed at accountancy professionals and business leaders. It explores the extent to which materiality definitions currently reflect the increasing significance of natural capital as a business issue. A survey of over 200 accountancy professionals, interviews with CFOs/senior management from eight major companies, a disclosure survey of corporate reporting by 40 organisations inn specific sectors, and desk based research inot relevant literature and work in the field were all undertaken as part of the report. The report focuses on biodiversity and ecosystems, as specific constituents of natural capital which give rise to ecosystem services.

To read the full report, click here.

The report of the 17th-18th September Wellbeing Workshop details how changes in ecosystem services affect human wellbeing. Policy makers want to design interventions that do not have detrimental impacts on the most vulnerable groups of people. However, anticipated and actual outcomes can differ considerably; we need to understand wellbeing and how to measure it so that the impacts of these decisions can be assessed.

The VNN Wellbeing project aims to explore the potential for developing conceptual and practical tools to capture differentiated experiences of change, in order to combat elite capture of benefits and ensure the poor are at the forefront of decisions.

To read more details click here. 

To read the full workshop report click here.

Building on research through the Valuing Nature Network (VNN), this one-day interdisciplinary workshop brings researchers and practitioners together to explore how a better understanding of human wellbeing can be integrated into ecosystem service interventions to achieve effective pro-poor conservation outcomes.

Date and Time: 10th December 2012 9:30am - 6:00pm
Location: Institute of Zoology, London 
Registration: Students £10, Non-Students £15 (deadline 6th December)
Coffee, tea, soft drinks and a buffet sandwich lunch will be served during breaks and are included in the ticket price, as is the post workshop reception.

External and policy-driven change in social-ecological systems affects human wellbeing and determines the impact of actions to conserve ecosystem services. Interventions to improve the use of natural resources occur within complex and dynamic ecological, social, and economic landscapes. To implement robust policies driving sustainable pro-poor conservation it is essential to understand the heterogeneities of wellbeing for those least resilient to change, mis-measurement, and loss of ecosystem services. Differentiated experience of change and how it impacts wellbeing must then be integrated into conservation interventions to give a voice to the poor and avoid disadvantage.

For full details and registration, click here.