Understanding the integration of ecosystem services and natural capital in Scottish policy

Despite the growing body of evidence highlighting how human activity both depends on and keeps deteriorating natural resources, traditional development models have failed to bring about conservation solutions to this contradiction. The twin concepts of ecosystem services and natural capital (ES/NC) have been coined to bridge this cognitive gap, by providing a framework to make the benefits that human societies derive from ecosystems more visible and intelligible for policy- and decision-making. As part as a global effort, European Union institutions have been promoting these notions over the last decade. The effective take-up of the ES/NC framework is therefore crucial to the success or failure of this attempted cognitive shift in influencing public decision outcomes. This article presents an assessment of the integration of ES/NC in Scottish policy, conceptually and operationally. Forestry is used as an exemplar policy sector to illustrate integration dynamics and limitations, but eight other policy areas were analysed: the environment, split up between its air, soil and water components, a broad category including agriculture, rural development and land use, fisheries and coastal matters, climate change, and bioenergy. The analysis of 224 policy documents, strategies and other policy-relevant documents demonstrates how Scotland has become an ‘ES/NC-literate’ polity through a proactive stance regarding global and European norms and requirements for nature conservation and the sustainable use of recourses. The ultimate outcome of these policies requires further analysis given the substantial implementation challenges

The health and social benefits of nature and biodiversity protection : Executive summary

A report for the European Commission (ENV.B.3/ETU/2014/0039)201

The health and social benefits of nature and biodiversity protection

A report for the European Commission (ENV.B.3/ETU/2014/0039)201

Natural Capital in a Nordic context : Status and Challenges in the Decade of Biodiversity

The report reviews different international approaches for natural capital accounting. The five approaches reviewed are attempts to help create an improved evidence base on the links between biodiversity and ecosystems on the one hand and economic and human wellbeing on the other in view of better informing decision-making in a variety of contexts. The strengths and weaknesses of the approaches are evaluated in the light of the policy goals, institutions and conditions in the Nordic countries. The analysis has been carried out during the period September 2012 – January 2013 by Gaia Consulting Oy and the Institute of European Environmental Policy. The project was commissioned by the Nordic Council of Ministers

Policy Mixes to Achieve Absolute Decoupling: An Ex Ante Assessment

One approach to reducing the environmental costs of economic activity is to design and implement policies that aim at decoupling economic activity from its environmental impacts. Such a decoupling requires an economy-wide approach to policy-making, through broad mixes of policy instruments that create the right framework conditions for decoupling, and which provide coherent and consistent signals to resource-using sectors of the economy. This article summarizes the ex ante qualitative environmental assessment of three policy mixes (over-arching, metals, and land use) developed within the DYNAMIX project, highlighting their potential impacts on raw material extraction, greenhouse gas emissions, land use, freshwater use, and biodiversity (parallel assessments addressed economic and social impacts, and governance issues). Whilst the environmental assessments largely identified positive impacts, some policies had potential for minor negative impacts. The key challenges for undertaking such an assessment are identified (including uncertainty, baseline accuracy, the differing nature and scope of policies, policy flexibility, and the challenges of implementing volume control policies). Finally, some conclusions and lessons for policy-makers are presented, to contribute to the development of future policies and improve the reliability of future environmental assessments of policy mixes