This month, Natural England published its State of the Natural Capital Report for England 2024 Risks to Nature and Why it Matters, providing a comprehensive look at the health of England’s natural resources.
At Senus, we are committed to supporting and protecting these resources through our measurement, reporting, and verification platform. This report is particularly relevant to our work, as it reveals some hard truths about the current state of England’s natural capital and highlights critical areas where urgent action is needed to ensure the resilience of these invaluable resources.
Why Natural Capital Matters
This report views ecosystems—such as forests, rivers, coastal areas, and urban green spaces—as valuable resources that provide key benefits to English society. These include clean air, fresh water, food, and climate resilience, to name a few. As the report outlines, England’s natural environment is changing, placing the essential benefits we derive from nature at risk. This affects a wide range of areas, from farming (due to loss of pollinators) and climate resilience (from degraded carbon stores) to flood management and food security. The State of Natural Capital Report compiles the best available data on these issues, providing a foundational understanding of the risks and what is driving them.
The report introduces a Natural Capital Risk Register—a new framework that identifies which ecosystems and benefits are most at risk and why. This focus on drivers of risk provides actionable insights that decision-makers can use to prioritise and address these threats effectively. This approach is timely, as many policy areas—such as economic resilience, Net Zero, climate adaptation, food security, and public health—are closely tied to the health of these ecosystems.
A Closer Look at England’s Vulnerable Ecosystems
The report profiles several high-risk ecosystems, which are essential to both environmental health and societal well-being:
Marine Ecosystems: England’s marine areas are experiencing severe degradation, largely from practices like overfishing, bottom trawling, and pollution from land runoff. These pressures damage seabed habitats and marine biodiversity, reducing the ecosystems’ ability to sequester carbon and endangering marine resources like fish and shellfish.
Coastal Margins: Coastal areas, including saltmarshes, sand dunes, and estuaries, play crucial roles in protecting inland areas from floods, buffering against coastal erosion, and supporting biodiversity. However, rising sea levels, pollution, and development along coastlines severely impact these regions.
Freshwater Ecosystems and Wetlands: Rivers, lakes, ponds, and wetlands are essential for maintaining water quality, providing habitat for wildlife, and supporting biodiversity. However, pollution, water extraction, and land-use changes increasingly threaten England’s freshwater resources.
Woodlands: England’s woodlands, which are essential for carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and recreational benefits, are experiencing pressures from deforestation, pollution, pests, and diseases. Woodland ecosystems also help mitigate soil erosion and contribute to water cycle regulation.
Mountains, Moorlands, and Heaths: These upland areas are critical habitats that support unique species and act as natural reservoirs, contributing to water regulation and flood control. Yet, they are at risk from changing land-use practices, climate change, and habitat fragmentation.
Pathways to Reducing Risks to Natural Capital
The benefits of healthy natural ecosystems, such as carbon sequestration and clean water, are countless, therefore, it is essential for us to look at how we can improve the current state and curtail the risks posed to our key natural capital assets in the country.
This report outlines a number of actions that we, as custodians of our environment, can take or push for to improve this status. To name a few examples from the report that are relevant for our work in agriculture:
- Sustainable management of natural carbon sinks and stores
- Strategic, sustainable soil and river catchment management
- Incorporation of ecosystem protection in land and sea use planning
- Promotion of sustainable and regenerative practices in farming and forestry
These examples are areas where we already have the means to take action, and farmers, along with their offtakers, are actively engaging in them. From effective soil nutrient and carbon management to promoting sustainable and regenerative practices on-farm, and regularly assessing on-farm habitats, we have both a roadmap and practical examples for improvement. Now it’s simply a matter of putting these actions into practice.
Using Better Data for Informed Decisions
A key message from the report is the need for improved data to inform strategies around natural capital, particularly in areas like wetland habitats, specific soil types, and certain under-monitored ecosystems. Improved data collection and analysis are fundamental to addressing these gaps and developing effective, evidence-based policies.
Our Commitment at Senus
At Senus, we are committed to the protection of the environment and supporting those aiming for a positive environmental impact. We do so through our platform, which provides tools that help farmers, advisors, and supply chains to assess, monitor, and improve natural capital, thereby helping stakeholders make informed decisions that contribute to long-term ecosystem resilience.
For a deeper look at the state of England’s natural capital and actionable insights for safeguarding it, download the full State of the Natural Capital Report for England 2024. This resource is a crucial step toward integrating natural capital considerations into everyday decisions, ensuring a more sustainable future for all.
Kevin Fennelly
UK Country Manager at Senus
