Green Infrastructure Plan 2019 - 2032

03 Green Infrastructure Themes
3.1.3 Natural Capital
Natural Capital is a vital cross cutting theme, linking to the aim to; ‘integrate GI
principles into policy and design’. Each key theme will have the following priority to
ensure that this cross-cutting theme and associated aim is achieved:
Vivid Economics (2017) found that for every £1 spent by local authorities and
their partners on public green spaces, Londoners enjoy at least £27 in value. This
investment is exceptional value for money. Also, they estimated in Sheffield (Vivid
Economics, 2016) that for every £1 spent on maintaining the parks, £36 of benefits
are generated.
Define the natural capital and value of Green Infrastructure as an evidence base
to justify future development.
Natural capital is any part of the natural environment that provides benefits for
people (that are predominantly hidden), for example, parks, woodlands, minerals,
soil, air and water and the natural processes that underpin essential ecosystem
services. Ecosystem services (Figure 3.2) are the essential benefits that people
obtain from the environment, for example, food production, clean water and air.
To make a long-term business case for GI investment, it is necessary to identify
the benefits that GI can contribute towards public sector statutory obligations and
programme for government. Also, there is a need to demonstrate the benefits of GI
to the stakeholders in the private sector.
The Office for National Statistics (2017a) state that Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
excludes services provided by natural capital. The Natural Capital Committee
recommends the use of a natural capital accounting framework as a fundamental
mechanism if natural capital is to be mainstreamed in decision-making. This will
help organisations make better decisions about the value of the services provided
by the natural capital assets (or green infrastructure) that they own and manage
(Greater London Authority, 2015). A Natural Capital Account can help to inform and
improve decision-making by framing public green spaces as economic assets, and
highlighting the range and value of their benefits
Figure 3.2 Ecosystem Services, source waterways Ireland 2016
24
DERRY CITY AND STRABANE DISTRICT COUNCIL