Mangrove swamp at Iriomote Island, Japan, providing beneficial services of sediment accumulation, coastal protection, nursery and fish-spawning grounds which may in turn support coastal fishing communities. At least 35% of the world's stock of mangrove swamps has been destroyed in just 20 years[1]Remarks from 1937 by FDR on "natural capital" and "balancing the budget of our resources"Honeybee (Apis mellifera) pollinating an Avocado crop. Healthy stocks of wild and cultivated pollinator species are important to support the farming industry and help ensure food security.Aerial view of the Amazon Rainforest. Looked at as a natural capital asset, rainforests provide air and water regulation services, potential sources of new medicines and natural carbon sequestration.Fires along the Rio Xingu, Brazil – NASA Earth Observatory. Loss of natural capital assets may have significant impact on local and global economies, as well as on the climate.[2]The many components of natural capital can be viewed as providing essential goods and ecosystem services which underpin some of our key global issues, such as food and water supply, minimising climate change and meeting energy needs.
Natural capital is the world's stock of natural resources, which includes geology, soils, air, water and all living organisms. Some natural capital assets provide people with free goods and services, often called ecosystem services. All of these underpin our economy and society, and thus make human life possible.[3][4]
It is an extension of the economic notion of capital (resources which enable the production of more resources) to goods and services provided by the natural environment. For example, a well-maintained forest or river may provide an indefinitely sustainable flow of new trees or fish, whereas over-use of those resources may lead to a permanent decline in timber availability or fish stocks. Natural capital also provides people with essential services, like water catchment, erosion control and crop pollination by insects, which in turn ensure the long-term viability of other natural resources. Since the continuous supply of services from the available natural capital assets is dependent upon a healthy, functioning environment, the structure and diversity of habitats and ecosystems are important components of natural capital.[5] Methods, called 'natural capital asset checks', help decision-makers understand how changes in the current and future performance of natural capital assets will impact human well-being and the economy.[6] Unpriced natural capital is what we refer to when businesses or individuals exploit or abuse nature without being held accountable, which can harm ecosystems and the environment. [7][8][9]
^Valiela, Ivan; Bowen, Jennifer L.; York, Joanna K. (2001). "Mangrove Forests: One of the World's Threatened Major Tropical Environments". BioScience. 51 (10): 807–815. doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0807:mfootw]2.0.co;2. ISSN 1525-3244. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
^"Why are Rainforests Important?". www.rainforestconcern.org. Archived from the original on 2016-01-20. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
^"What is natural capital?". naturalcapitalforum.com. World Forum on Natural Capital. Archived from the original on 6 October 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
^"What is Natural Capital". www.naturalcapitalcoalition.org. Natural Capital Coalition. Archived from the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
^"Search – The Encyclopedia of Earth". www.eoearth.org.
^"UK NEAFO Work Package 1: Natural capital asset check – Annex 4: Case studies". uknea.unep-wcmc.org. UK National Ecosystem Assessment. p. 3. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
^"What is natural capital?". European Investment Bank. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
^"What is natural capital and why companies need to take interest in it?". Manutan. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
^"Natural capital accounting". environment.ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
Naturalcapital is the world's stock of natural resources, which includes geology, soils, air, water and all living organisms. Some naturalcapital assets...
Naturalcapital accounting is the process of calculating the total stocks and flows of natural resources and services in a given ecosystem or region. Accounting...
The NaturalCapital Project (NatCap) is a partnership among 250 groups around the world that has developed a systematic approach to weighing nature’s...
of NaturalCapital is an educational initiative associated with The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) to communicate naturalcapital investment...
capital Financial capital, an economic resource measured in terms of money Capital good Human capitalNaturalcapital Public capital Social capital Capital...
public policy. It includes accounting for naturalcapital, human capital, social capital and produced capital. The True Cost Accounting approach can be...
The NaturalCapital Committee (NCC) was an independent body set up in 2012, initially for a three-year period, to report to the UK Government and advise...
of environmental issues List of environmental websites NaturalcapitalNatural history Natural landscape Sustainability Sustainable agriculture Timeline...
liquidates its capital and calls it income. It neglects to assign any value to the largest stocks of capital it employs – the natural resources and living...
rejecting the proposition that human-made ("physical") capital can substitute for naturalcapital. The modern field of environmental economics has been...
Financial capital (also simply known as capital or equity in finance, accounting and economics) is any economic resource measured in terms of money used...
types of capital (economic, social, and natural), which may be non-substitutable and whose consumption might be irreversible. Naturalcapital can not necessarily...
the division of labor and human capital. In the 1990s, the concept of human capital was extended to include natural abilities, physical fitness and healthiness...
The NaturalCapital Initiative (NCI) is a partnership of UK science organisations which promotes and supports decision-making across government, business...
aggregate value of all capital assets in a given region, including human capital, social capital, public capital, and naturalcapital. Maximizing inclusive...
within environmental economics which states that 'human capital' can substitute 'naturalcapital'. It is based upon the work of Nobel laureate Robert Solow...
accounting methods in which naturalcapital and social capital are characterized not as intangibles or externalities but as actual capital assets. In some income...
trading stocks for much of the planet's living naturalcapital stored in ecosystems. There is no natural stock market with investment portfolios into sea...
^{*}=\mathrm {NNI} -\left[{{\text{Natural Resource}} \atop {\text{Depletion}}}\right]} Natural resources are non-critical naturalcapital such as minerals. NNI*...
phenomenon", he had done little work in the area of environmental issues. Naturalcapital is poorly represented in GDP. Resources are not adequately considered...
plans identify ways of sustaining human well-being, employing naturalcapital, market capital and ecosystem services. In the EU Directive 1999/22/EC zoos...
value or 'price' is associated with the objects of value, regarded as naturalcapital, associated with ecosystems and this may be based on the ability of...
economic success. Physical capital, as it came to be known, consisting of both the naturalcapital and the infrastructural capital, became the focus of the...
The ecological footprint measures human demand on naturalcapital, i.e. the quantity of nature it takes to support people and their economies. It tracks...
The resulting certificates for fully verified projects are issued as NaturalCapital Credits. The NFS was developed in 2011 by Ecosystem Certification Organisation...
2012. "Welcome". Natural Value Initiative. Archived from the original on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2012. "Home". NaturalCapital Project. Archived...
There are many reasons to restore ecosystems. Some include: Restoring naturalcapital such as drinkable water or wildlife populations Restoring environmental...
society with nature is "a universal and perpetual condition.": 145 In Capital, Marx integrated his materialist conception of nature with his materialist...
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