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Decluttering the natural capital space

Bathing boxes on the Mornington Peninsula for decluttering the natural capital space

A key consideration in connecting accounts to decision making is fitness for purpose. When determining what’s relevant in your context, you will need to balance:

  • the type of question you are wanting to answer
  • the scale at which you are thinking (farm, region, state, country)
  • the level of resources available for data collection and account compilation.

In short, not every question will require the finest level of detailed data across every aspect of natural capital. In addition, by using a natural capital framing, it will be possible to progressively build richer natural capital accounts that answer a broader range of questions.

However, once you get started in the natural capital space, you’ll find that there are dozens of frameworks, initiatives, projects, methods, tools, datasets and the like that all seem relevant. And annoyingly, each of these has its own acronym that, at first glance, means absolutely nothing.

In partnership with NRM Regions Australia, we wrote a handy guide to the ‘blizzard of acronyms,’ placing them in context. In general, most are not competing, and will play a distinct role in the natural capital accounting space.

We’ve identified four groups, each recognising a different area:

  • frameworks and standards establish what should be measured
  • methods present how organisations can collect and transform data to derive accounting outputs, such as a set of environmental accounts
  • tools and data platforms allow organisations to collate data from multiple sources and for methods to be applied
  • initiatives and applications provide the motivation for measurement and the link to decision making.

A diagram with an overview of the groups in decluttering the natural capital space

We note that the leading framework is the international statistical standard for natural capital accounting – the United Nations System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA). The SEEA can be applied in a range of context at any level – from country to farm, as explained in a recent study: Can you use the SEEA at a site level? The answer is yes.

What’s in each group?

Open up each of the headings below for more information.

Frameworks and standards

FrameworksFor determining what to measure.

The leading framework is the international statistical standard for natural capital accounting – the United Nations System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA).

Other standards and frameworks include:

A key feature of natural capital accounting is the use of consistent concepts and definitions so that the results of measurement can be compared over time and across locations.

Different natural capital frameworks and standards have emerged because different groups of people are interested in answering related but different questions.

Underpinning all frameworks and standards is the need to describe natural capital and its systemic connection to people and business.

Methods

MethodsFor collecting and transforming data.

To implement the concepts and definitions described in a framework or standard, it is necessary to collect and transform observed data, for example water quality, species count, vegetation type, livestock numbers and soil type, into estimates that can be entered into accounts.

Examples methods for ecosystem condition:

Examples for ecosystem services:

Tools and data platforms

ToolsFor organising data and accounting outputs:

Initiatives and applications

InitiativesFor connecting accounts to decisions.

Initiatives and applications are the entry point to discussions on accounting for natural capital and hence can be readily confused with the various frameworks, methods and tools.

 

Decluttering the natural capital space

Decluttering the natural capital space for the resources pageDownload the full document about decluttering the natural capital space that we produced in partnership with NRM Regions Australia.

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