The Natural Capital Initiative

Bringing together knowledge and expertise to protect our life support systems

The Natural Capital Initiative (NCI) is an independent forum bringing together the private, public and third sectors.  Among its core activities are workshops and seminars that draw together people from across the UK with diverse interests and perspectives.

NCI was launched in 2009 with a Symposium and workshops entitled "Valuing our Life Support Systems". The events involved over 200 representatives of public institutions, businesses, academia and non-profit organisations to discuss the challenge of putting a price on the environmental goods and services which we need to survive.

Activities since this event have included:

  • A series of three workshops on challenges for the increased use of biodiversity offsetting in the UK (2010).
  • Symposium on ecosystem services and human health (2010)
  • An Open Space meeting to bring together project experience on public dialogue on land use and the natural environment (2011)

Apart from organising meetings on emerging topics in environmental management, NCI plays a leading role in networking of people and initiatives throughout the UK to support more effective management of the natural environment to maximise the well being of people, communities and society.  By bringing together people and know-how, NCI serves a valuable role in identify gaps in knowledge, policy and practice, as well as facilitating discussion about how to address these gaps.

NCI has hosted several meetings and workshops

 

natural capital initiative

 

Much of NCI’s work is based on the concepts of ‘natural capital’ and an ‘ecosystem approach’. These concepts are an increasingly important focus for many public, private and third sector programmes. The focus is shifting towards safeguarding the ways in which the natural environment underpins human well being, rather than focusing purely on minimizing the impact of human activity on ecosystems.

Natural capital: an economic metaphor for the stocks of physical and biological resources found on Earth. It is one of five forms of capital identified by Forum for the Future as foundational for sustainable development (human, financial, social, manufactured and natural).

An ecosystem approach: a way of looking at whole ecosystems in decision making and for valuing the goods and services they provide. The ecosystem approach was first defined in the Convention on Biological Diversity.

 

NCI is led in partnership between the Society of Biology, the NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and the British Ecological Society. NCI receives limited funding from the three partners, as well as grants from other organisations.