Representatives from the Greater Mekong Subregion Working Group on Environment (WGE), ADB, and CEP shared their regional cooperation experience in managing transboundary biodiversity landscapes at the first Global Forum on Natural Capital.

The Forum, attended by almost 500 delegates from more than 30 countries, aims to help business and sustainability leaders identify the economic value of natural capital – the world’s natural resources, such as water, forests and biodiversity, on which our economic and social wellbeing depend.

The Forum received a high profile opening with a message from Prince Charles and video clip from the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg presented at the opening plenary.

Sanath Ranawana, Senior Natural Resources Specialist of ADB, presented CEP work in a finance session of the Forum. The presentation raised considerable interest, particularly potential opportunities to apply CEP’s Spatial Multi-Criteria Analysis approach  to screening investment projects more widely among other investment banks. Ms Kim Thi Thuy Ngoc, WGE representative from Viet Nam’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, also took the opportunity to cite the GMS WGE as a good example of partnership in a Collaborative Frameworks session.

Other key speakers included Peter Bakker (President, World Business Council for Sustainable Development), David Jones (Global CEO, Havas and Co-Founder, One Young World), Prof. Dieter Helm (Chair, Defra National Capital Committee), Jochen Zeitz (Co-Founder, The B Team, and former CEO at PUMA) and Julia Marton-Lefèvre (DG, IUCN).

Key messages from the Forum include:

• “Treating nature as priceless is not enough – somehow this is interpreted as worthless.” (Strahil Cristov, European Commission)
• “Need to place natural capital at the heart of our economy.” (Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN)
• Core idea of natural capital is sustainable growth (i.e. life for successive generations is at least as good), therefore:
• We have to maintain assets (i.e. no depreciation); and
• We have to compensate for damage as it is not possible to conserve everything (Dieter Helm, UK Defra Natural Capital Committee).
• Business in 1990s was about image but today’s surveys show that nobody cares about 72% of brands – they are meaningless. Civil society is increasingly concerned about how businesses account for their social and environmental responsibilities and the public can express its clout via social media. The next generation will expect companies to give back to nature as much as they take. Harness the power of youth to get natural capital on the agenda. There is “No business to be done in a dead world.” (David Jones, One Young World)
• Natural capital, economy and civil society are in crisis. In order to get business to invest in natural capital, it is necessary to: restore stranded assets; change the rules of the game (green accounting); and create an open-minded coalition between business and civil society. (Peter Bakker, WBCSD)
• What we have told people in developing countries is: “develop your economy and become poor.” Valuation of natural capital is dangerous because it’s transparent and explicit about its value. “How can we live together? – with justice – do not hide the true value of what we try to steal.” (Barry Gardner, MP and Shadow Minister for Natural Environment & Fisheries)

The first Global Forum was organised by the Scottish Wildlife Trusts in association with IUCN, UNEP. The 2nd Global Forum on Natural Capital will be held on 25-26 November 2015.

Published: 24^th November 2013