Natural capital refers to the stocks of the Earth’s natural assets and resources, such as soil, water, air and biodiversity. These stocks provide humans with a flow of goods and benefits – known as ‘ecosystem services’ – which positively impact well-being. Indeed, for business operations to successfully function long-term, and for human well-being to be sustained, this resource base must be maintained or restored. Almost all economic activities are dependent on ‘natural capital’ in some form or another.
This guidance document, "Natural Capital Assessments at the National and Sub-national Level", presents eight steps to completing Natural Capital Assessments for practitioners. Throughout these eight steps, the assessment is meant to involve stakeholder engagement, excellent communication and capacity building, including among local experts to ensure it is credible, legitimate and relevant to the needs of decision-makers.