Natural Capital and Regional NRM Organisations
Natural capital in simplest terms is the global stock of renewable and non-renewable natural resources, including air, water, soils, minerals and biodiversity. First used in 1973, the term has developed over time to define the economic assessment of the ecosystem services provided by our planet’s natural resources.
While the term Natural Capital has risen to prominence with government, industry and the public in recent years, the sustainable use of our natural capital, its maintenance and improvement have been fundamental to Regional NRM organisations since inception. Identifying and assessing our natural assets are foundational to the development of our regional NRM strategies and plans which guide our operations and provide us with the knowledge and expertise to play a key role in Australia’s efforts to protect and enhance our Natural Capital.
The Natural Capital Knowledge Hub
Due to the rapid development in the use of Natural Capital and associated tools this Knowledge Hub is designed as a living resource, with a selection of relevant material to guide and inform those working in the broad area of Natural Capital developments. It will be reviewed and updated accordingly to provide a range of reference documents, reports and examples of NRM work. For simplicity of navigation the Hub has been divided into four sections:
- Natural Capital
- Natural Capital Accounting
- Environmental Markets
- NRM Projects and Case Studies
Demystifying Natural Capital and Biodiversity
The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review (Abriged)
The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review (Headline Messages)
The Future of Nature and Business
Natural Capital Introduction – Carl Obst
March 2023
Natural capital accounting for NRM organisations
Markets and Market Access – Ian McConnell
October 2022
Ian McConnell, Director of Sustainability for Tyson Foods and the President of the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. Ian speaks about the impact of increasing sustainability demands on supply chains and the demands this is putting on farmers to report their sustainability.
Understanding Sustainability Frameworks – Chris Cosgrove
September 2022
Provides insights into the drivers of sustainability frameworks for agricultural industries and also the intended market for the information they provide. Chris Cosgrove has extensive experience working with many of the sustainability frameworks and is currently facilitating a project between the cotton sustainability framework and regional NRM organisations.
ESG – Edwina Clowes
December 2022
Edwina Clowes, Manager - Sustainability Frameworks & Stakeholders at Meat & Livestock Australia speaks about what ESG is and how it is influencing what MLA are doing in the sustainability space.
AgCarE - Farm Level Sustainability Accreditation – Greg Leach
April 2023
Dr Greg Leach discusses the drivers and increasing need for farm-level accreditation of sustainability. Greg will then introduce AgCarE which has been developed by AgForce. AgCarE is an evaluation of a farm's natural capital condition, including an initial audit of carbon and biodiversity assets. The tools to do this are in an online platform. https://www.agcare.org.au/
MLA Environmental Credentials – Katelyn Lubcke
May 2023
Katelyn Lubcke, Project Manager - Environmental Markets, MLA introduces the Environmental Credentials for Australian Grassfed Beef platform - that MLA piloted their platform around the country in 2023.
MLA's CarbonEdge training program – Harriet Bawden
July 2023
Harriet Bawden,Project Manager, Northern Beef Adoption at Meat & Livestock Australia gives background on MLAs carbon training and extension programs focussing on Carbon EDGE. The Carbon EDGE program is for grassfed beef, sheep and goat producers who are looking to build on their understanding of carbon. Taking carbon from a concept to an action plan.