Publications

The role of natural capital in the green economy: LCNR response

The House of Commons’ Environmental Audit Committee launched an inquiry, ‘The role of natural capital in the green economy’, in August 2023.  The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery submitted a response, written by Dr Sophus zu Ermgassen.

Our submission proposed:

• An accelerated timetable to agree and implement independent evaluation systems (particularly on-site gains for BNG) to secure high-quality nature recovery, and to prevent problems arising from reliance on self-reported assessments alone,
• Government support for local authorities to pursue developers responsible for non-compliance. This would include provision long-term support for monitoring and enforcing planning conditions associated with nature recovery,
• For BNG, revision of the enforcement threshold from the currently unrealistically-high ‘serious harm to a local public amenity’ to a condition that is more closely aligned with nature recovery objectives; and
• Adoption of the guidance provided in the industry’s best practice guide and best practice Standards (e.g. British Standard 8683: 2021) a condition of planning consent for developments to assist with monitoring and to embed good practice.

Rewilding, Restoration, and the Future of Nature Recovery

James Bullock. UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

There is much excitement about ‘nature recovery’, with many scientists, conservation practitioners and commentators having opinions about how this might be achieved. While many focus on single solutions, such as ecological restoration, rewilding, land sparing, etc, effective recovery will likely involve ‘pick and mix’ approaches that match local needs and national priorities. I will talk about how we can combine rewilding, restoration and agroecological approaches to give pragmatic solutions for recovery. But, we should not ignore massive constraints on nature recovery, such as extinction debt, fragmented landscapes and loss of ecological complexity. In particular, many discussions on recovery do not engage with the fact that rapid climate change will undermine what can be achieved and will be driving ongoing species loss. Indeed, climate change demands that we re-think conservation aims and approaches, and even how we promote nature recovery. I will talk about our concept of ‘Survival Ecology’ as a way of re-conceptualising conservation in a time of anthropogenic climate change.

Biography

James is a conservation ecologist at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, with a long history of fundamental and applied research into ecological restoration, rewilding, and agri-ecological management. He is dedicated both to understanding ecological processes in complex, real-world situations, and translating this into solutions for nature recovery that are pragmatic and effective. To do so he also works across disciplines, with, e.g., climate scientists, social scientists and geographers.

The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery and Biodiversity Network are interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners.

The views, opinions and positions expressed within this lecture are those of the author alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, or its researchers.

Parish Nature Recovery Survey Report

Executive summary

Oxfordshire Treescape Project have been delivering Treescape Opportunity Reports to parish groups since October 2021. Since then the range of resources offered and our ways of working have developed. In April 2023 a survey was sent to the 76 parish groups that had viewed our Opportunity Maps (the majority as pdf Reports, but some in addition or solely as interactive maps on the Land App), the aim of which was to understand what resources for nature recovery are already at parish councils’ disposal; how useful different resources provided by OTP have been; what would most help parishes move forward with nature recovery planning and activities.

Responses were received from representatives of 18 parish groups. Of these, 13 had or were considering a Neighbourhood Plan (NP) within their parish. Nine of these 13 thought it likely or very likely that their NP would support nature recovery in the parish, highlighting that NPs could be a key tool for parishes in nature recovery.

The key theme to emerge was the importance of human connection: the difficulty of engaging with landowners came through strongly, as did the value of volunteers, connections with other groups such as neighbouring parishes and discussions with the Oxfordshire Treescape Project team. Respondents who had good relationships with local landowners described them as among their greatest strengths, but the majority wanted better guidance on how to approach them. Volunteers are highly valued, but respondents felt that volunteers lacked time.

The most used and influential OTP resources were discussions with the team, introductions to relevant people or organisations and the maps, in Opportunity Reports and in the Land App. The maps within the Opportunity Reports were the most used and most useful sections, being used to plan nature recovery and share ideas with parish councils. Some respondents felt that the maps could be improved in terms of accuracy and level of detail.

Emily E. Rampling, Sophus O. S. E. zu Ermgassen, Isobel Hawkins, Joseph W. Bull (2023). Achieving biodiversity net gain by addressing governance gaps underpinning ecological compensation policies. Conservation Biology.

Abstract

Biodiversity compensation policies have emerged around the world to address the ecological harms of infrastructure expansion, but they have historically experienced weak compliance. The English government is introducing a requirement that new infrastructure developments demonstrate they achieve a Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). Previous research has highlighted governance gaps that risk undermining the policy’s ecological outcomes and explore the risks caused by capacity constraints in regulators. However, the magnitude of their effects on the policy’s potential biodiversity impacts remains unexplored. We collated BNG information from all new major developments across six early adopter councils from 2020–2022. We quantified the proportion of the biodiversity outcomes promised under BNG which are at risk of non-compliance, explored the variation in strategies that developments use to meet their biodiversity liabilities, and quantified the occurrence of simple errors in the biodiversity metric calculations. Large developments and energy infrastructure are more likely to meet their liability within their own development footprint, and small developments more likely to purchase offsets. We estimate that 27% of all biodiversity units fall within governance gaps that expose them to a high risk of non-compliance. Ideally, more robust governance mechanisms would be implemented to cover on-site biodiversity unit delivery. Alternatively, more of these units could be delivered through the off-site biodiversity offsetting; in the latter case, we estimate that the demand for offsets could rise by a factor of four, increasing the financial contributions generated by BNG for conservation activities on private land. Lastly, we find that 21% of applications contained a simple recurring error in their BNG calculations, half of which have already been accepted by councils, hinting at under-resourcing in councils assessing developments. Our findings demonstrate that resourcing and governance shortfalls risk undermining the policy’s effectiveness at halting biodiversity loss and require addressing to ensure the policy benefits nature.

Nature Seminar Series: A virtual rainforest

Professor Robert Ewers, Imperial College London

Abstract:

Ecologists study living organisms and their interactions with the physical environment, but as ecologists we seldom attempt to understand ecosystems in their entirety. This seminar will present a system-level overview of the ecological processes operating in a Malaysian rainforest, and explain how we are converting this knowledge into a digital twin ecosystem – the virtual rainforest.

Biography:

Rob Ewers is Professor of Ecology at Imperial College London who specialises in biodiversity and whole-system ecology. His vision is to integrate diverse data sources, modelling approaches and interdisciplinary collaborations to develop a holistic understanding of ecological systems. He applies his research to address pressing environmental challenges and to promote sustainable land use practices.

The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery and Biodiversity Network are interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners.
The views, opinions and positions expressed within this lecture are those of the author alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery/Biodiversity Network, or their researchers.

Nature Seminar Series: Fishing for Nutrition: Healthy Oceans for People and Planet

Professor Christina Hicks

Abstract:

Our global food system is poised for transformation; with the goal increasingly to ensure diets are healthy and sustainable. Fish and other aquatic foods are afforded an increasingly prominent role in this new narrative, primarily for their comparably low greenhouse gas emissions and rich micronutrient content. While a refocus towards healthy and sustainable diets is needed, it is imperative that efforts do not create or exacerbate inequities. In this talk, I first explore the role of aquatic foods in this transformation, and establish how distal drivers of foreign fishing, international trade, and climate change undermine the participation of small-scale producers and local consumers. Next, and drawing on theories of Social Justice I establish how social structures including class, gender, and ethnicity, create barriers to participation and explain unequal distributions of benefits. Finally, I evaluate whether patterns of injustice are associated with a lack of political voice or recognition in food systems policy. In doing so, I identify promising examples of how policy can be used to support a more equitable distribution of food system benefits.

Biography:

Professor Christina Hicks is an interdisciplinary social scientist and marine conservationist who examines the interactions between humans and marine environments. Based at Lancaster University, UK, she works on fisheries governance and conservation, fisheries nutrition, and food justice, with a focus on coastal East and West Africa. She is currently working in three core areas: 1) Examining the contributions fisheries make to human nutrition under social and environmental change; 2) Establishing how flows of finance drive fisheries overexploitation to identify policy responses; 3) Supporting just and sustainable food systems transitions. Christina is a Highly cited Researcher, her work has been published widely, including in Nature and Science, has featured in documentaries, including on the BBC world service, and has received grants and awards including from the European Research Council, Leverhulme Trust, and Royal Geographical Society

The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery and Biodiversity Network are interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners.

The views, opinions and positions expressed within this lecture are those of the author alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery/Biodiversity Network, or its researchers.

Nature Seminar Series: Rewilding European landscapes: lessons learned and future directions for science and practice

Dr Sophie Monsarrat, Rewilding Europe

Abstract
Rewilding has emerged as a novel approach for nature recovery gaining momentum across Europe. Drawing from my dual experience as a rewilding researcher and practitioner, I will offer insights into the connection between scientific research and practical implementation of rewilding initiatives across the continent. I will present key obstacles to rewilding that necessitate concerted efforts and cooperation among practitioners, scientists, and policymakers and propose research and policy agendas to advance rewilding at scale in Europe.

Biography
Sophie Monsarrat is a rewilding scientist and practitioner, with previous experience working on large terrestrial mammal ecology in South African and European landscapes. After 9 years in academia, she joined Rewilding Europe to help support the rewilding movement in Europe. As Rewilding Manager, she oversees the wildlife comeback, natural grazing and coexistence programs across Rewilding Europe’s landscapes. She also manages the European Wildlife Comeback Fund, which supports keystone species reintroductions across Europe.

The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery and Biodiversity Network are interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners.

The views, opinions and positions expressed within this lecture are those of the author alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery/Biodiversity Network, or its researchers.

Thomas White, Talitha Bromwich, Ashley Bang, Leon Bennun, Joseph W. Bull, Michael Clark, E.J. Milner-Gulland, Graham Prescott, Malcolm Starkey, Sophus zu Ermgassen, Hollie Booth (2023). The Nature Positive Journey for Business: A research agenda to enable private sector contributions to the global biodiversity framework.. OSF Preprint.

The 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework calls upon the private sector to take substantial action to mitigate its negative impacts on biodiversity and contribute towards nature recovery. The term ‘Nature Positive’ has gained traction in biodiversity conservation discourse to describe both a societal goal and the ambitions of individual organisations to halt and reverse nature loss. However, enabling businesses to contribute towards Nature Positive outcomes will require major shifts in the way businesses and society operate, and research that can help guide and prioritise business actions.

As a group of researchers and consultants working at the interface between business and biodiversity, we propose a conceptual model through which private sector contributions to a Nature Positive future could be realised and use it to identify priority research questions.

The key questions address:

i) sectoral strategic options,

ii) methods and approaches individual businesses can implement to inform these strategies,

iii) systemic driving forces that influence private sector action, and

iv) how outcomes are measured to deliver Nature Positive contributions.

Collaborations between researchers, businesses and industry bodies are needed to co-design and implement research, where there is currently no coordinated approach to identify and fund priority research areas for Nature Positive themes. A clearly structured and prioritised research agenda is vital to guide effective, equitable and timely action by businesses.

Nature Seminar Series. Fixing our broken relationship with nature. Miles Richardson

This talk will consider our broken relationship with nature and introduce the science of nature connectedness, why it matters and how to improve it in order to unite both human and nature’s wellbeing.

The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery and Biodiversity Network are interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners. The views, opinions and positions expressed within this lecture are those of the author alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, the Biodiversity Network, or their researchers.

This paper, co-authored by Andy Hector, Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery Theme lead notes that satellite observations of one of the world’s biggest ecological experiments on the island of Borneo have revealed that replanting logged forests with diverse mixtures of seedlings can significantly accelerate their recovery.

The experiment was set up by Professor Andy Hector and colleagues over twenty years ago as part of the SE Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP). This assessed the recovery of 125 different plots in an area of logged tropical forest that were sown with different combinations of tree species. The results revealed that plots replanted with a mixture of 16 native tree species showed faster recovery of canopy area and total tree biomass, compared to plots replanted with 4 or just 1 species. However, even plots that had been replanted with 1 tree species were recovering more quickly than those left to restore naturally.

Read the paper in Science Advances here 

Nature Seminar Series. Quantifying & predicting resilience from individuals, to populations, to whole communities. Rob Salguero-Gómez

Understanding and predicting the responses to natural systems to disturbances has been a fundamental goal of Ecology since its birth as a science. Still, the study of resilience has been plagued with discussions and disagreements regarding how to define this term, which have ultimately limited progress in the area, let alone developments to integrate resilience across levels of biological organisation.

In this talk, I will overview key works developed in my lab aimed at integrating how individual responses to disturbances scale up to changes in population trends and community assembly. The approaches used, contrary to the status quo in the discipline, do not make assumptions about ecological systems being at or close to stationary equilibrium, and so they offer a more realistic depiction of how nature operates and responds to the human-led disturbances they are current experiencing. I will also discuss how novel technologies (autonomous robots, UAVs, LiDAR) can help vastly expedite our assessments and predictions of nature resilience towards a more cost-effective recovery.

The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners.  The views, opinions and positions expressed within this lecture are those of the author alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, or its researchers.

Nature Seminar Series. Climate change and nature recovery from global thinking to local action – Mike Morecroft

The links between the climate and nature crises are clear. Climate shapes patterns of biodiversity at all scales from global to local; ecosystems are key to the global carbon cycle and often mediate the impacts of climate change on people.

The latest IPCC reports show how the impacts of climate change on ecosystems and biodiversity are now being reported around the world; they also show that habitat degradation and fragmentation increases vulnerability of both people and nature to climate change. It is possible to adapt to climate change and to build resilience, but there are limits to this which would become increasingly apparent at higher levels of global warming. Nature-based Solutions, which provide benefits for people and biodiversity are an essential element of climate change mitigation and adaptation. It is however essential that they are planned and delivered in ways that are scientifically robust, draw on local knowledge and are equitable and inclusive.

Mike will give an overview of the global issues based on his experience as an IPCC Coordinating Lead Author and present research that he is leading at Natural England, to test the effectiveness of Nature-based Solutions for climate change in practice and to learn how to implement then to deliver their full potential.

The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery is interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners.  The views, opinions and positions expressed within this lecture are those of the author alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, or its researchers.