Woodland, freshwater, coast and urban green areas have improved in Scotland in the last decade, according to a Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) study published today. Scotland is the first country in the world to publish a detailed account of changes in natural capital, based on evaluating ecosystems.
SNH’s pilot Natural Capital Asset index is the first of its kind to take the idea of economic capital and apply it to the environment in this way. Ecosystems, such as woodlands, rivers or moorlands, provide us with numerous services, including fresh water for drinking, wild salmon and venison, carbon storage, pollination of flowering plants, oxygen production, as well as recreation such as hill walking, bird watching and just relaxing on the beach. All of these rely on our natural capital.
The loss of Scotland’s natural capital last century was driven by a number of factors. Between the 1960s and 1990s, there was a rapid decline in the area of natural grasslands, loss of hedgerows and farmland birds, increasing coastal pollution, a fall in wild salmon weights, bracken encroachment on heather moorland and drainage of peatlands.
In the 21st century, Scottish woodland saw the greatest improvement in the natural capital index. This increase was largely the result of the improved condition of protected woodland and increases in forest area and woodland birds. The amount of urban greenspace in Scotland also rose steadily.
Scotland’s freshwater resources improved significantly over the decade as well, largely driven by improved water quality, freshwater invertebrate diversity, and improved condition of some protected sites. Coastal areas also saw better conditions at protected sites, along with better bathing water quality.
There was less positive news, though, in some natural areas of Scotland, with the natural capital index for cropland fluctuating, and the index declining for moorland and grassland. Moorland saw adecline in bird species, encroaching bracken and a drop in plant biodiversity on both bogs and heaths.
Claudia Rowse, SNH rural development manager, said: “There’s a lot of good news in this pilot index, but we have to be vigilant about those areas with declines. We have put together this assessment to show how important Scotland’s natural assets are to keep our economy and our environment healthy together. Scotland’s natural assets should be used, but they need to be managed sustainably for the next generation.”
John Crawford, Scottish Enterprise Policy Manager, said: “Scottish Enterprise welcomes the development of a natural capital index for Scotland. Once we can place an economic value on natural resources, we’ll be better placed to measure their role and importance as part of a genuinely sustainable economy. SNH’s pilot index is a positive step in this direction.”
Governments around the world are now grappling with how to move beyond GDP in terms of measuring the success of their economies. Various studies over the last few decades have highlighted the importance of recording natural capital to move towards a more sustainable economy, and in 2010, 100 scientists at the Linnean Society identified improving measures of national wealth “to take account of natural capital” as the best way to save biodiversity.
SNH is also asking for feedback on the pilot index, which will be refined over 2011. The index, which includes details about how to provide comments, can be found here.