Project Description
There is growing recognition of the importance of natural capital – biodiversity (flora and fauna), soils, waterways and marine areas – in the context of our global financial system and the need to value and account for it as an asset class. Through this innovative world-first project, the condition of natural capital will be accurately measured and valued at the landscape-scale.
The Natural Capital Project will:
- develop accurate, scalable and repeatable best practice measures and method for credible natural capital accounting and valuation in Australia and internationally
- deliver world-leading integrated natural capital environmental accounts and impact assessment and valuation outputs
- demonstrate that investing in nature can deliver a financial return, while also improving the resilience and health of the environment.
Project partners
- Burnett Mary Regional Group – managing the project within the Burnett Mary region
- Accounting for Nature – develop scientific measurement methods and accreditations
- Pollination Group – providing natural capital impact assessment and valuation tools and strategic environmental markets advice
- Minderoo Foundation – funding partner
The project will run across the Burnett Mary region in Queensland, Australia, covering more than 5.6 million hectares internationally renowned for its ecological diversity and supporting a range of industries. The Accounting for Nature framework and Pollination natural capital impact assessment and valuation model will be applied across an area 35% larger than the Netherlands.
Outcomes of focus:
- Land health and resilience
- Connection to country and reconciliation
- Economic productivity and profitability
- Community wellbeing and resilience
Environmental assets that will be accounted for:
- native fauna – terrestrial and freshwater
- soil
- freshwater – rivers
- marine – estuaries
- native vegetation
Additional measures for environmental condition and natural capital monetisation:
- landscape resilience – bushfire and flood risk
- carbon – offset potential
- biodiversity – credit potential
- cultural condition – traditional ecological knowledge
The Burnett Mary region will benefit from the project through increased investment that will continue to improve the local environment. Local farmers and landowners will benefit from new sustainable revenue streams, as well as increased productivity from healthier land. Investors in the project will benefit from new opportunities to gain a financial return, and future investors will gain useful information and frameworks to assess investment opportunities that have a positive impact on the environment.
In time and beyond the Burnett Mary region, the project will drive investment in nature at scale by quantifying the underlying financial value of the environment, and the change in its value because of investment.
If you would like further information about the investment opportunities available now, visit Pollination Group.
If you would like further information about environmental and natural capital accounting, visit Accounting for Nature.
