Following the publication of its report Natural Capital Accounting: A Guide for Action, the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) is hosting an in-person event to discuss the potential of natural capital accounting in Ireland.
As advocated for by NCI since our inception in 2014 and piloted in Ireland in the recent INCASE project, Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) is a tool to measure the changes in the stock and condition of ecosystems, such as rivers and forests, and value the ecosystem services they provide.
Integrated into decision-making, NCA can make the services that nature provides more visible to policymakers, allowing for more sustainable decisions for nature, economy and society. Drawing on recent NESC work, international and Irish policy, including NCI research, this event will focus on the question “What can NCA do for us?”
This event will be held in the Dublin Royal Convention Centre on March 12, from 8.30-2pm, closing with a networking lunch.
Carl Obst, global leader in natural capital accounting with Australia's IDEEA Group and part of the INCASE project team, will speak in the morning on the current state of play of NCA around the world. Carl is lead author of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA), the international standard on accounting for natural capital as applied in Irish catchments as part of the EPA Research-funded INCASE project. Read the INCASE report recommendations.
Business For Biodiversity Ireland's Iseult Sheehy will act as moderator, and NESC Director Dr Larry O’Connell will set the scene for Session 1.
Professor Jane Stout, Trinity' College Dublin's Vice President of Biodiversity & Climate Action, pollination expert and our leading voice for natural capital since she co-founded NCI ten years ago, will outline exactly why we must account for nature.
There will be further contributions from:
NCI policy working group director Dr Emer Ní Dhuill
INCASE project lead Catherine Farrell
National Parks & Wildlife Service's Dr Deirdre Lynn
Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine's Niall Ryan
Grainne Devine of Bord Iascaigh Mhara
Speakers from Central Statistics Office (currently developing Ecosystem Accounts for Ireland), the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, Marine Institute, Irish Farmers' Association, Northern Ireland Environment Link and more.
There will also be an opportunity to discuss challenges and opportunities of NCA development, and what areas of action are required to bring it forward in Ireland. The event is free and open to all, essential for those with an interest in NCA and those curious to see how the approach can apply across all sectors, with implications for food production, forestry, water, energy, education, health, heritage, tourism and more.
The event is a real culmination of all the work that has gone into the development of the natural capital concept over the last decade and a chance to ask, where do we need to go from here?
To register for this event please click HERE.
To view the full event programme please click HERE.