Tag Archives: Natural Capital

Soil, an essential natural resource often not recognised

Soils provide several services to humans (e.g. food, feed, carbon storage, decomposing waste) yet their significance is rarely recognised. A recent study in Vadose Zone Journal points at this problem and suggests a framework that could help integrating soils in … Continue reading

Posted in Ecosystem Services, Science Communication, Soil | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

UK’s Natural Capital Committee beginning to take shape

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman last week announced the appointment of five members to the recently formed independent Natural Capital Committee. The members are experts in the fields of natural science and economics, with a considerable range of specialist knowledge and … Continue reading

Posted in Defra, Economics, Government, Valuation, white paper | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

GLOBE: an international platform helping legislators to get prepared for Rio + 20

At the Natural Capital Initiative Steering Group meeting this morning we received a very interesting talk about GLOBE International’s work. GLOBE International was founded in 1989 with the aim to tackle pressing environmental challenges through legislation by creating an international … Continue reading

Posted in Government, Natural Capital Initiative, Political Parties, UK | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Ecosystem service valuation to involve local communities in Scotland

Communities in Scotland could be encouraged to use a newly developed ‘toolkit’ to assign values to the local ecosystem services they depend on. A summary report published by the Highland Council reveals plans for two initial pilot studies in the … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Ecosystem Services | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Jonathon Porritt discusses “The Growth Fetish and the Death of Environmentalism”

Yesterday evening, Jonathon Porritt, founder of Forum for the Future and chair of the Sustainable Development Commission, spoke at the annual Burntwood lecture, hosted by Institution of Environmental Science. In a dynamic talk, Porritt described the so-called “growth fetish” of … Continue reading

Posted in Carbon, Development, Economics, Emissions, Energy, Environment, Green Technology, Renewable Energy, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments