The Natural Capital Valuation (NCV) Model takes natural capital accounting to the next level. Underpinned by the System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA), this new model helps organisations use information about stocks and flows of natural capital at the landscape level to understand the specific context and to support the assessment of different scenarios.
The Model informs decision-making around:
- natural capital and socioeconomic risks
- opportunities to mitigate risks and enhance natural capital
- opportunities to invest in natural capital.
It provides a holistic picture on how ecosystems within a landscape are evolving over time.
The NCV Model was initially developed for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in a collaborative project involving Arcadis, IDEEA Group, the Landscape Finance Lab and the RWA Group.
To demonstrate the potential of the NCV model, it was piloted in two landscape-scale case studies: one at Issyk-Kul Lake in Kyrgyzstan and one at the Aral Sea in Uzbekistan. It has since been applied to projects in Kazakhstan, Serbia, Egypt and again in Uzbekistan. The model has also been tested in feeding information into the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) framework, that also helps organisations understand their nature-related risk.
The NCV model provides an opportunity to extend the principles of natural capital accounting into detailed landscape assessments for investment and risk management purposes. It also supports decision making concerning the Sustainable Development Goals and the global Nature Positive initiative to stop biodiversity loss and restore nature to pre-2020 levels.
The collaboration continues, with projects in the Red Sea wrapping up and others underway. Stay tuned for updates on this model in practice. Contact us if you’d like to learn more about how the model works and how it can be applied to the landscape level in your region.