The 2011 White Paper ‘The Natural Choice: Securing the Value of Nature’ commits us to be the first
generation to leave the natural environment in a better state than it inherited. The Tellus projects - a
series of multi-partner environmental survey and research projects carried out in the UK and Ireland
- have delivered innovative data and research that have successfully shaped policy and stimulated
new investments in mineral, energy and infrastructure resources. On 12 May, at a meeting of the All
Party Group on Earth and Environmental Sciences chaired by Martin Caton MP, Andy Howard, Mike
Young and Marie Cowan explained how the Tellus Projects are transcending their original goals to
contribute to the wider objective of measuring and realizing the value of our natural capital assets,
and to help deliver the world-leading research needed to inform decisions and measure success in
meeting the White Paper objectives