Economic Value of Ecosystem Services
This webinar will introduce recent land use change economic valuation work (WPR3) within the National Ecosystem Assessment ‘Follow On’ projects of 2013-14 (UKNEAFO).
The webinar will conclude with connection (and brief introduction) to the Natural Capital Committee’s 2015 (Third) State of Natural Capital Report.
The land use change model assesses consequences of applying policies at any location and time across the UK and can identify where the application of policy yields the highest net benefits (either in market price terms or a wider notion of value to society) from an ensemble of ecosystem services. Related work includes a programmed system that links a series of modules together to assess both the drivers and consequences of land use change. A case study, relevant to recent policy questions, examines the potential for establishing new forests in England, Scotland and Wales (this analysis, was prompted by government announcements of the intention to expand forestry in all three countries and considers the impact of any land use change across various systems: agriculture, timber, water quality, greenhouse gases, recreation and biodiversity).
Note on webinar - This session is not directly updating on new (in practice) developments but is instead an introduction to leading and developmental work which has potential implications for future strategic level decision making on natural capital and land use. As such although described as ‘introduction to’ its main interest will be to members interested in leading edge developments in natural capital and ecosystem services.
Presenter – Professor Ian Bateman, UEA
Host – Nick Blyth, IEMA
Republic of Ireland: Current Bog Restoration in Ireland
Our special event was hosted by the IEMA Republic of Ireland regional network, looking at bog restoration in Ireland.
How green is your site and could you make it more beneficial for your staff and nature? Our Midlands event welcomed guest speakers to discuss the importance of encouraging your workforce to engage with biodiversity in a way that deepens understanding and morale within your organisation.
How can we find solutions to the complex challenges that we, and our natural environment face? Our Wales webinar helped attendees gain insight and updates on the work of Natural Resources Wales, who have been developing a series of innovative Area Statements covering seven separate yet hugely diverse parts of the country.
Our Yorkshire and Humberside coffee morning looked at an introduction to biodiversity net gain (BNG) and how a minimum 10% BNG can be achieved on new development, with real project examples in the Yorkshire region.
This digital event was run by the North Wales regional group where three organisations presented on their biodiversity work and how they assist in Wildlife Preservation in North Wales.
The event helps attendees to better understand what Natural Capital, Environmental and Biodiversity Net Gain are, providing an update on the current position with respect to the 25 year plan; introduce good practice in designing development projects to follow Biodiversity Net Gain Principles, an update on DEFRA’s new Biodiversity Metric 2.0 and emerging British Standards.
In this session we discussed biodiversity net gain and how a wide-scale conservation project is aiming to reverse the decline in farmland biodiversity in Scotland.
