We were delighted to include a talk by Jane Lusardi at her last NCWG meeting. Jane has been an integral part of the group and a key driver of the Natural Capital Agenda in England and the UK. Her talk covered the State of Natural Capital Report for England 2024: Risks to Nature and Why it Matters. The report brings together evidence on the state of nature, the benefits it provides and the risks that threaten it. It also highlights why risks to nature should be of concern to policy and the opportunities and priorities for action to reduce these risks. Jane provided more detailed insights in a question and answer session following her talk, highlighting approaches to raise the profile of natural capital across government departments in England and to liaising with other UK countries on similar approaches.
We also had an excellent talk from Chris Cooper at the Environment Agency about River Ecosystem Service Mapping where information from natural capital state indicators is being used to map ecosystem services of rivers in England so that any changes in service provision relating to state can be understood. The Ecosystem Service Mapping Explorer (ESME) explores the ecosystem service potential of the river network at three scales: river reaches, whole waterbodies and catchments.
The group discussed next steps for the group and areas for future focus which include:
- Improving communication/engagement on Natural Capital between UK countries and across government departments (not the usual suspects, potentially include Green Finance areas)
- River Basin management
The NCWG is now planning its next meeting, which should take place in July.