Natural Capital and Ecosystems Accounting in the United Kingdom MAES delivery workshop 16 th December 2015 Emily Connors Project Manager, Office for National Statistics, UK

From the beginning ONS commit to incorporate natural capital into UK Accounts by 2020 ONS and Defra commit to a joint project 2012 UN SEEA Experimental Ecosystem Accounting ONS Roadmap identifies early priorities 2013 Initial ecosystem woodland accounts and discussion papers Defra-ONS convene international seminar on valuation for accounting 2014 ONS experimental partial aggregate estimates of UK Natural Capital Defra-ONS ecosystem accounting principles 2015 Review of Roadmap and Forward Look

Types of accounts High Level 3 Specific accounts Aggregate top down monetary account Revised estimates coming out in June 2016 Freshwater accounts Woodland accounts Land cover and land use Peatland Converge

Policy benefits derive from these complementary approaches Wealth tracking Value of nature in economic activities Identifying limits and thresholds Managing trade-offs through efficiency policies Targeting funds Improved understanding of sustainability Better resource management Comprehensive wealth approach Spatially detailed ecosystem accounts

Aggregate UK Valuation- still partial 5 Non-renewable AssetsRenewable Assets Regulatory ServicesCultural Services Aggregate UK Valuation Oil & Gas Coal Timber Fisheries Water (public use) Hydropower Navigation Air Quality Net GHG sequestration Recreation Education Water (industry use) Farmland Minerals

Supported by development work Conceptual development building on the ‘Principles’ paper published August 2014 (due to revised later this year) 6

Policy and media presence Joint governance between ONS and Ministry of Environment Strong support from independent Natural Capital Committee and Treasury Ministers 7 The Guardian 14 October 2015 “…by quantifying what trees do …we can see they are worth at least 15 times their value as timber.” Environment Secretary Liz Truss The Guardian 14 October 2015 “…by quantifying what trees do …we can see they are worth at least 15 times their value as timber.” Environment Secretary Liz Truss

What’s next? Revised and updated ‘top down’ aggregate estimates Habitat specific accounts for Coastal margins, Farmland Cross- cutting carbon accounts Restoration costs 8

For more information, see guidance/natural-capital/index.html MAES delivery workshop 16 th December 2015