Principles, uses and

advantages of

Natural Capital

AccountingPOST 2020 BIODIVERSITY FRAMEWORK - EU SUPPORT

WORKSHOP ENTEBBE

AUGUST 2019

Monica Lopez

United Nations Environment Programme

Natural Capital Accounting

Africa lead

GDSA 2012

AMCEN declaration

UNEA resolution

Aichi Targets linked to NCA

Target 1

By 2020, at the latest, people are aware of the values of biodiversity and the

steps they can take to conserve and use it sustainably.

Target 2

By 2020, at the latest, biodiversity values have been integrated into national

and local development and poverty reduction strategies and planning

processes and are being incorporated into national accounting, as

appropriate, and reporting systems.

Target 14

By 2020, ecosystems that provide essential services, including services

related to water, and contribute to health, livelihoods and well-being, are

restored and safeguarded, taking into account the needs of women,

indigenous and local communities, and the poor and vulnerable.

Ecosystem

Services

It is not about putting a price on nature!

TEEB initiative (2008-2012)

TEEB for

Business

(See Natural Capital Coalition)

TEEB: Using economic tools to

make the value of nature visible

Think Tank

Develop approaches and

guidance for measuring

biodiversity and

ecosystem services

Create a strategy for

achieving Aichi targets

through valuing nature

and SDGs

Development Agency

TEEB Country studies

Natural Capital Accounting

TEEB for Agriculture & Food

TEEB for Oceans & Coasts

The SDG ‘food cake’

SDGs are interconnected

Source: TEEB, 2018

TEEB 6 step

approach

• STEP 1: Refine the objectives of a study

by specifying and agreeing on the key

policy issues with stakeholders

• STEP 2: Identify the most relevant

ecosystem services

• STEP 3: Define information needs & select

appropriate methods

• STEP 4: Assess and value ecosystem

services

• STEP 5: Identify and outline the pros and

cons of policy options, including

distributional impacts

• STEP 6: Review, refine and report:

Produce an answer to each of the

questions

Why Agriculture?

The visible and invisible flows of agricultural production

The

Challenge

Today’s food systems are not delivering.

Hunger and obesity

Soil degradation

Water scarcity and water pollution

Wildlife disruption, loss of habitat

Greenhouse gas emissions

Rural poverty

Most evaluations of food systems only look at Productivity Per Hectare

TEEB AgriFood looks at the full value chain, from soil to plate, and value of

all ecosystem services impacted by the value chain

Linking in the Natural Capital Coalition – Private Sector

Vision:

Livelihoods and conservation outcomes are BOTH improved as a result of the TEEB AgriFood initiative

Mission:

1. Provide a comprehensive economic

evaluation of ‘eco-agri-food systems’

2. Build awareness of dependency on

natural and social capital

3. Support and inform an agricultural

intervention, policy, regulation or

initiative that addresses externalities of

agriculture

TEEBAgriFood Vision and Mission

TEEB AgriFood Actions

1. Identify intervention or policy options that protect

biodiversity and promote well-functioning ecosystems

2. Expose the value of the wide range of benefits in

ecosystems, landscapes and biodiversity, in biophysical

measures

3. Demonstrate value using economic methods to make

nature’s services economically visible in order to support

decision-makers wishing to assess the full costs and

benefits of decisions

4. Capture value by applying economic instruments to

incorporate the value of ecosystems services and

biodiversity throughout the agricultural value chaininto decision-making, through incentives, regulations, or

price signals

TEEB AgriFood FrameworkI. Evaluate the full value chain:

Production

Manufacturing / Processing

Distribution / Marketing

Household consumption

II. Measure stocks of all four capitals:

Natural capital

Produced capital

Human capital

Social capital

III. Measure all types of flows or “impacts”

Ag, forest, livestock output

Purchased inputs

Ecosystem services

“Residuals” (Pollution and waste)

Social Values (food security; gender equity; decent work)

Risks & Uncertainties (Resilience; Health; etc)

“VALUE- ADDITION” Production Processing & Distribution Consumption

Value Chain Stages

Visible & Invisible Flows

Natural

Land-

scape

Infra,

Equipt,

Inputs

Farm Wholesal

e

F & B Retail Industry/

Household/

Hospitality

Waste

Mngmt

Captured in SNA (Profits,

Wages, Taxes - Subsidies,

etc)

Provisioning Services

(Materials, Energy, etc)

Regulation & Maintenance

(Soil, Water, Habitat, etc)

Cultural (lifestyle, heritage…)

Health (Nutrition, Diseases,

Antibiotic Resistance, etc)

Pollution (Nitrates, Pesticides,

Heavy metals, waste

disposal, etc)

Emissions (CO2 ; CH4 ; etc)

The narrow field of view of “per hectare productivity”..

Today’s dominant lens vs TEEBAgriFood’s proposed

Evaluation Framework

www.teebagrifood.org

Thank you!