The government’s response to the Natural Capital Committee’s third State of Natural Capital report

This is the final version. Available from Defra via the link in this recordThis response sets out how we will act on the recommendations in the Natural Capital Committee’s third State of Natural Capital report. This includes working with others to develop a strategy and 25 year plan for protecting and improving the benefits we get from our natural resources. We have also committed to extend the life of the Committee until at least the end of this Parliament. We will draw on NCC’s advice when developing policy and particularly in the development and delivery of the 25 year plan

The state of natural capital: protecting and improving natural capital for prosperity and wellbeing

This is the final version. Available from Defra via the link in this record.This is the Natural Capital Committee’s (NCC) third report to government. The report sets out recommendations to achieve government’s vision, ‘to be the first generation to leave the natural environment in a better state than it inherited’. The Natural Capital Committee is an independent advisory body to governmen

Improving natural capital: an assessment of progress

This is the final version. Available from Defra via the link in this record.This report sets out the work done by the committee since March 2016. It also makes a series of recommendations to government on developing the 25 year environment plan. The Natural Capital Committee is an independent advisory body to government

To what extent has Sustainable Intensification in England been achieved?

Agricultural intensification has significantly increased yields and fed growing populations across the planet, but has also led to considerable environmental degradation. In response an alternative process of ‘Sustainable Intensification’ (SI), whereby food production increases while environmental impacts are reduced, has been advocated as necessary, if not sufficient, for delivering food and environmental security. However, the extent to which SI has begun, the main drivers of SI, and the degree to which degradation is simply ‘offshored’ are uncertain. In this study we assess agroecosystem services in England and two contrasting sub-regions, majority-arable Eastern England and majority-pastoral South-Western England, since 1950 by analysing ecosystem service metrics and developing a simple system dynamics model. We find that rapid agricultural intensification drove significant environmental degradation in England in the early 1980s, but that most ecosystem services except farmland biodiversity began to recover after 2000, primarily due to reduced livestock and fertiliser usage decoupling from high yields. This partially follows the trajectory of an Environmental Kuznets Curve, with yields and GDP growth decoupling from environmental degradation above ~£17,000 per capita per annum. Together, these trends suggest that SI has begun in England. However, the lack of recovery in farmland biodiversity, and the reduction in UK food self-sufficiency resulting in some agricultural impacts being ‘offshored’, represent major negative trade-offs. Maintaining yields and restoring biodiversity while also addressing climate change, offshored degradation, and post-Brexit subsidy changes will require significant further SI in the future