The Scottish Forum on Natural Capital was launched a decade ago at the inaugural World Forum on Natural Capital, held in Edinburgh, and the first meeting took place in early 2014. It has now grown into a network of highly active and collaborative communities of practice, including the Scottish Nature Finance Pioneers and hubs on sustainable land management, marine natural capital and digital technologies for nature.

It is a uniquely broad network of collaborative communities of practice, bringing natural capital into mainstream decision-making. The initiative brings together public, private and voluntary sector organisations to protect, value and rebuild Scotland’s natural capital. It enables businesses and policymakers to better understand our dependence and impact on nature, and that protection and enhancement of Scotland’s natural wealth is a viable option, providing economic opportunities and benefits for the whole of society.

Willow trees © Peter Cairns/2020VISION

The secretariat for the Scottish Forum on Natural Capital is provided by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, with support from the Scottish Government and NatureScot, alongside time, donations and sponsorship from over 100 Forum institutional members, and over 700 individual members of its topic hubs.

Jo Pike, Chief Executive of the Scottish Wildlife Trust and Deputy Chair of the Scottish Forum on Natural Capital, notes the collaborative ethos that the initiative has fostered in the ten years since its creation. She said: “Over the past ten years, the Scottish Forum on Natural Capital has enabled multi-disciplinary discussions and innovative thinking across diverse sectors such as finance, research, policymaking and technology to recognise the value and multiple benefits of protecting Scotland’s natural capital and the costs of depleting it.

“The initiative is now a uniquely broad network of collaborative communities of practice, bringing natural capital into mainstream decision-making. We welcome everyone who is interested in bringing their perspectives and knowledge to the discussion.”

Key members of the Forum’s network have shared their views on the future of biodiversity regeneration. Watch the ‘Visions for Scotland’s Natural Capital’ video below.

Produced by Slinky Productions – Video Production Company

Natural capital can be defined as the stocks of natural assets which include geology, soil, air, water and all living things. It is from this natural capital that humans derive a wide range of services, often called ecosystem services, which make human life possible.

The most obvious ecosystem services include the food we eat, the water we drink and the plant materials we use for fuel, building materials and medicines. There are also many less visible ecosystem services such as climate regulation and natural flood defences provided by forests, the billions of tonnes of carbon stored by peatlands, or the pollination of crops by insects. Even less visible are cultural ecosystem services such as the inspiration we take from wildlife and the natural environment.

Explore the forum’s Vision and Strategy.