ADVANCES (ADVancing Analysis of Natural Capital in LandscapE DecisionS)

Lead Research Organisation: University of East Anglia
Department Name: Environmental Sciences

Abstract

Natural Capital is a fundamental component of an economy's stock of resources upon which human health, well-being and wealth depend. Economic growth and development are conditioned by the economy's overall capital stock which includes produced capital (i.e. factories, power stations, infrastructure); human capital (i.e. people); social capital (i.e. social networks and communities); and natural capital (i.e. assets such as landscapes, soils, water, air and ecosystems). The combination of natural capital and other forms of capital provides society with so-called ecosystem services, and these, in turn, supply a variety of benefits. The flows of benefits to people include: pollination and food supply; water supply, purification and flood protection; carbon storage; and recreation and amenity experiences. Individual and societal health and well-being are enhanced where the flow of ecosystem services contributes to cleaner water/air, more equitable climates, recreation experiences and cultural enrichment.

It is increasingly common to incorporate assessments of natural capital into public and private sector decision-making because it allows comparison of potential policies or projects that may enhance or degrade the environment in terms of changes in the quantities of the goods and services provided to society. However, while the principles of the natural capital approach are now well-accepted (e.g. they are a key feature of the 25 Year Environment Plan published by the UK Government in 2018) its practical application faces a number of challenges. These include the way in which the effect of policies or management actions can vary by location or scale, the manner in which interventions to improve one benefit may have negative impacts on another (i.e. a trade-off), the uncertainties involved in estimating the size of such changes, and that some types of benefits (e.g. related to food production) are more straightforward to measure than others (e.g. the enjoyment provided by landscape views).

Addressing these challenges is particularly important in the context of UK government proposals to introduce new agricultural and environmental policies, as well as other alterations in land use (such as new house building or increased use of renewable energy) and the impacts of climate change. This project therefore seeks to develop better computer-based optimisation and statistical tools to assess changes in natural capital. It will do this through collaborations between a team of researchers who have previously investigated the implications of changes in the UK energy system for natural capital, and applied mathematicians who can contribute more advanced quantitative skills to the problems involved. The project will also involve representatives from government departments, businesses and other organisations concerned with land management and nature conservation in order to help ensure that the findings and modelling techniques produced by the project are relevant to their needs and ultimately better future decision-making about the UK Landscape.

Planned Impact

There are five main groups of potential beneficiaries from the proposed research. These are: (i) applied mathematicians and statisticians interested in applying their skills and tools to natural capital and landscape decision-making challenges, (ii) academics involved in researching the assessment and management of natural capital, (iii) academics developing new technology for a low carbon future, (iv) government departments and agencies concerned with the development of policies and programmes for the maintenance and enhancement of natural capital, and (v) land managers and businesses in sectors such as agriculture, forestry, renewable energy and nature conservation with a practical interest in the sustainability and improvement of natural capital.

This proposal is focused on the methodological and technical challenges associated with assessing changes in natural capital and ecosystem services. There are many opportunities for academics with skills in applied mathematics and statistics to contribute to the development of solutions to these challenges so ADVANCES will benefit this research community by providing a platform for collaboration through the identification of problems, supply of data and provision of links to relevant end-users. It is also possible that the discussions facilitated by ADVANCES will stimulate new conceptual insights or technical improvements in aspects of applied mathematics and statistics.

A second community of academic beneficiaries is those involved in research on natural capital. It is widely recognised in this community that there is a need for improved consideration of uncertainty and better operational assessment methods. ADVANCES will provide new methods and tools (e.g. publically available code and an R Shiny app) to address such issues, something which we anticipate should open up new avenues of investigation for other researchers. Another community of academics developing new technology for a low carbon future will benefit from improved methodologies and quantitative tools to help minimise negative environmental impacts and maximise the benefit of these engineering innovations.

The need for improved tools to assess changes in natural capital is accentuated by current government policy priorities. These include a stated intention to take agri-environmental policy in new directions and proposed Environmental Land Management contracts which emphasise public money for public goods. Other changes in land use associated with a progressive transition to a low carbon economy, new housing or infrastructure investments, and afforestation to meet climate change mitigation and adaptation objectives also have implications for natural capital. More broadly, natural capital is a key feature of the 25 Year Environment Plan. The work proposed in ADVANCES to improve the assessment of changes in natural capital will therefore directly benefit policymakers in government departments such as Defra and staff in agencies such as Natural England and Scottish Natural Heritage. In the longer term, it will also be relevant to businesses and organisations involved in day-to-day land management and companies building and operating the new low carbon power generation and other infrastructure. They require improved operational methods and guidance to improve practices that impact upon natural capital and can use these insights, methods and tools in their Environmental Impact Assessments for each project.

Publications

10 25 50
 
Description The research has demonstrated the importance of incorporating assessments of uncertainty in the assessment of land use policy options. This has been demonstrated through applications to tree planting strategies in Great Britain. The research is currently under review for publication. Data and modelling tools have been provided to the Environmental Information Data Centre to accompany the publication.
Exploitation Route This will be easier to discuss with relevant stakeholders once the key papers have been published
Sectors Agriculture

Food and Drink

Environment

 
Description This project is primarily concerned with the development of new mathematical and statistical techniques. These particularly focus on the incorporation of uncertainty and scale effects into land use decision making. Several of the example applications that have been developed concern issues of planting new woodland or forest expansion, so these are particularly to policies regarding Net Zero or Nature Recovery objectives. We have undertaken several conference or workshop presentations related to the research (e.g. with Defra staff) and have written two main papers that summarise the key findings from the research. These are currently under review for journal publication.
First Year Of Impact 2022
Sector Agriculture, Food and Drink,Environment
Impact Types Policy & public services

 
Description Supergen Bioenergy Hub Flexible Funding Programme - Fellowship Award to Dr Anita Shepherd (University of Aberdeen)
Amount £99,707 (GBP)
Funding ID SBH-Fellowship 2020-001 
Organisation University of Manchester 
Department SUPERGEN Bioenergy Hub
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2021 
End 02/2022
 
Description Contribution to HM Government Open Innovation Team's work on land use and geospatial data 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Andrew Lovett took part in an expert interview with staff from the HM Government Open Innovation Team on 29th July 2020 to assist in their work on land use and geospatial data. The overview of academic research compiled by the Open Innovation Team was used to provide a range of teams within HM Government with a summary of expert insights on the ethics of location data. The teams who benefited from the overview said that it had changed the way they thought about the policy area, and will feed into internal policy papers and most likely a gov.uk publication in the future.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description Defra Environmental Land Management Modelling Expert Panel 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Five members of the ADVENT and ADVANCES team (Brett Day, Felix Eigenbrod, Astley Hastings, Andrew Lovett and Guy Ziv) were invited to join an Environmental Land Management Modelling Expert Panel (E.L.M-MEP) for Defra. The panel is intended to be a source of independent review and scrutiny during the implementation of the modelling strategy to inform the development of the ELM agri-environmental programme. The panel has met twice to date (16th December 2020 and 22 January 2021) with further meetings scheduled in 2021.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description National Land Data Programme Meeting, 16th September 2022 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact An online discussion with Kevin Yue (Cabinet Office) and colleagues regarding modelling in the National Land Data Programme and how geospatial modelling techniques such as those used in ADVENT and ADVANCES could be applied.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Phone conference with representatives of National Grid and Anglian Water 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact A phone conference on 20th January 2020 with representatives from National Grid and Anglian Water to discuss methods of modelling spatial variations in natural capital to inform sustainability assessments. There was particular interests in how the techniques developed by the ADVENT and ADVANCES projects might be transferable to operational business requirements
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description Workshop on Energy Security and Land Use, 12th January 2023 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact An online workshop organised by the government Open Innovation Team and the Geospatial Commission to discuss tools to support national land use planning for energy infrastructure. Six researchers from ADVENT and/or ADVANCES participated in the workshop discussions. Representatives from government departments included BEIS, Defra and DLUHC.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/open-innovation-team