New System Being Developed To Map Natural Capital in Marine & Coastal Environments

January 11, 2019 |

This press release was originally published on Environment Analyst.

“APEM is working alongside natural flood management and ecosystems specialist Viridian Logic to develop an innovative marine natural capital mapping system for Natural England. The project aims to provide users, such as researchers or the public, with a systematic approach for mapping the ecological and environmental features of an area, assessing the natural capital and the benefits it provides.

APEM’s contribution to the project spans two key steps. Step one has seen APEM’s scientists source high quality, publicly accessible scientific data, which alongside natural capital indicators – defined by Natural England as part of a previous research project – will be used to develop the natural capital maps. Natural capital indicators help identify changes in the extent, quality and location of natural capital assets. Step two will see APEM establish a reliable and replicable method for producing the maps.

Baseline maps and tabulated results of the natural capital – and its associate economic value and benefits – at three marine protected areas will be produced as examples of how to implement the new approach. A template tool will provide researchers with a step-by-step process for applying the method in their own areas so they can create comparable maps.

APEM’s lead natural capital scientist, Mark Barnett, commented: “This is the first time that anyone has developed a systematic method for regulators like Natural England to use in assessing natural capital in marine environments. . . It’s a much more sensible approach because it allows us to create something that is standardised. Until now, researchers have pretty much been doing their own thing, which means that the assessments they produce are often not comparable either with each other or over time.”

The project is due to be completed in March 2019.”

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Introduction from Carl Obst (2017)

Victor Hugo once wrote that “Nothing is so powerful as an idea whose time has come”. Recognising the true value of natural capital, is one such idea. Across private and public sectors, across disciplines, and around the world, initiatives to advance and develop natural capital thinking have emerged rapidly over the past 10 years.

In a blizzard of acronyms, we have the NCC, SEEA, WAVES, IIRC, KIP-INCA, A4S, GRI, EO4EA – among many others. Are they the same, are they competing, are they useful? To both insiders and outsiders this range of initiatives is confusing at best. At worst, it leads to a lack of engagement, avoidance and misunderstanding.

The reality is that, while differences among these various initiatives do exist, they have all been motivated by a common understanding of the reality that we are losing our stocks of natural capital – and that this matters.

While each initiative may have different origins, some differing objectives, and may reflect variations in technique and method, there is much common ground. Indeed, to engage the broader community in tackling the natural capital challenges we collectively face, we cannot afford to focus on distinctions. Instead, we must look to build on the overlaps and seek to build a common language that will enable the exchange of ideas and ongoing innovation.

It is in this spirit of collaboration that the Natural Capital Coalition, together with the IDEEA Group and supported by over 20 organisations, launches this statement on Combining Forces on Natural Capital.

It is especially relevant that this statement of collaboration is launched at the World Forum on Natural Capital, where leading voices in the movement gather every two years, to share best practice, enduring challenges and build further collaborations.

While progress to date has largely taken place in small pockets, in order to move forward we need to ramp up our efforts and move beyond talking with supporters and “the converted”.

For this, we need leaders who can establish spaces for dialogue and development, and who can ensure that technical debates do not form a barrier to progress, that we take full advantage of the diversity of skills and experience already engaged, and that the big picture is always kept in mind.

I encourage you to take the opportunity to read the statement, to share it within your organisations, to sign on, and to join us as we move towards a better understanding and appreciation of the complex and beautiful world in which we live.

Carl Obst is Director of the Institute for the Development of Environmental-Economic Accounting (IDEEA Group), and Lead Author of the United Nation’s System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (UN SEEA).