Accounting for natural capital has cross-cutting relevance for UK public sector decision-making
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Supporting information
Accepted version
Author(s)
Maes, Mikael JA
Jones, Kate E
Toledano, Mireille B
Milligan, Ben
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Countries have made a range of international commitments to compile and use natural capital accounts. While processes and methods for compiling natural capital accounts are now well defined, mainstreaming natural capital accounting (NCA) across public sector decision-making remains a practical challenge. This raises the question: which domains of public sector decision-making are important for a phased introduction of NCA? Here, we address a subset of this evidence gap through systematic analysis of the policy-relevance of natural capital accounts in the United Kingdom (UK). We identify 85 UK public sector bodies whose activities can affect the extent or condition of natural capital assets, and 60 bodies whose policy objectives are qualitatively contingent on natural capital stocks or services. For each of these 60 public sector bodies natural capital management (1) is a core policy priority, (2) impacts on policy objectives by regulating natural hazards, or (3) provides ecosystem goods and services that support policy objectives concerning health and well-being. Our findings highlight the considerable cross-cutting relevance of natural capital for public sector decision-making, and the need to account for natural capital in policy domains beyond those focused narrowly on environmental policy and management, e.g. through coordination structures that feature cross-departmental representation.
Date Issued
2020-08-01
Date Acceptance
2020-05-16
Citation
Ecosystem Services: science, policy and pratice, 2020, 44, pp.1-6
ISSN
2212-0416
Publisher
Elsevier
Start Page
1
End Page
6
Journal / Book Title
Ecosystem Services: science, policy and pratice
Volume
44
Copyright Statement
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This manuscript is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000552658600005&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Ecology
Environmental Sciences
Environmental Studies
Environmental Sciences & Ecology
Natural capital
Governance
United Kingdom
Environmental accounting
Public sector
Decision-making
ENVIRONMENTAL-POLICY INTEGRATION
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 101127
Date Publish Online
2020-06-06