The second event of a new series from the Natural Capital Initiative (NCI) examined the principle of marine natural capital, the potential for this as an area of investment whilst maintaining quality of these environments, and the issues that arise from this.

NCI is a partnership between three leading scientific organisations in the UK: the Royal Society of Biology, the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and the James Hutton Institute.

Professor Laurence Jones from the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology chaired the event and introduced the first speaker, Annette Burden, a wetland biogeochemist and Blue Carbon lead from his organisation.

She spoke about saltmarshes and how the voluntary carbon market could be one of the solutions to protect the environment, where carbon credits are purchased by organisations for voluntary use rather than to comply with legally binding emissions reduction obligations.

The second speaker was Taco van Heusden, the co-founder of the KALY Group. He discussed the purpose of his company, saying that the goal is to create a pathway for commercial finance to enter marine natural capital.

The work KALY focusses on is community outreach and involvement, as well as contractual arrangements with investors and credit buyers.

Lastly, Maddie Millington-Drake, a senior climate project manager from Blue Marine Foundation, spoke about developing a high-integrity marine natural capital market in the UK.

She explained that Blue Marine’s mission is to see at least 30% of the world’s ocean under effective protection by 2030 and the other 70% managed in a responsible way. To achieve this, they want to catalyse engagement across government, private sector, civil society and academia to develop a detailed roadmap with a specific set of actions and priorities.

To find more information on enhancing natural capital for the benefit of people and nature, visit the NCI website. The event was recorded and is now available to watch on the RSB YouTube Channel.