Natural Capital Accounting Update

Perth NRM’s ‘Measuring On Farm Natural Capital’ project contributes to a framework for farmers to track changes in their natural resources over time, ultimately promoting sustainable land stewardship and enhancing environmental performance. Whilst this phase of the research project has been successfully completed, there is still much to be done. The project has progressed significantly and will be a driver for further investment and adoption of NCA methodologies.  

This project (and that of other projects like Farming for the Future) has contributed to the testing, validating and developing of on-farm NC assessments and protocols used for measuring and reporting NC. The aim is to continue refining and providing context for the development of a standardised NCA approach, which includes the definitions of what is being assessed, what claims are made, and the methods that underpin it. 

The project involved 645 surveys across 20 farms, with ecological surveys making up over 60% of these. The surveyed area totalled 30,968 hectares, with farm sizes ranging from 3 hectares to 5,688 hectares.

Key findings include: 

• High Ecological Integrity: 2,326 hectares of ecosystems, including native grasslands, woodlands, and forests, were identified with high ecological integrity. This indicates these areas are well-managed and close to pristine conditions. 
• Land Use: Sown pastures covered nearly 12,000 hectares, surpassing the 11,028 hectares used for cropping. Exotic Woody Vegetation was minimal at 42 hectares, suggesting a preference for native vegetation among farmers. 

The project successfully provided farmers with baseline data for managing NC and tracking changes. Feedback indicated that while some data was underutilized and report clarity could be improved, farmers showed strong interest in NCA and its benefits.

Key lessons include the need for region-specific modelling and improved soil assessment techniques. 

There is a need for larger datasets of NC within Western Australian farming systems to capture information and build upon this work to enable identification and quantification of the ecosystem services provided by WA’s different landscapes. This includes research into the economic value of NC and its importance for long-term prosperity and resilience. 

Examples of ecosystem services include: 

• carbon sequestration; 

• water infiltration/cycling;  

• biodiversity conservation; and  

• erosion reduction.  

Industry will be critical in engaging and supporting farmers to use such measuring and monitoring tools and techniques. 

With ongoing research, development and extension, farmers will have access to an NCA framework that gives them the capability to measure the stock of NC on their land. This will build their capacity to understand and identify the practices that deplete or build NC and in turn, build the productive capacity of the land to feed a growing population. 

Perth NRM was also involved in the Farming for the Future project, which quantified the relationship between a farm’s natural capital, and its productivity and profitability.

Hear Dr Sue Ogilvy, Director at Farming for the Future and her team present the business case for Nature Positive Farming drawn from their phase 2 data collection and the insights emerging from farmers’ use of natural capital reports on NRM Regions Australia’s ‘In the Tent with NRM’ webinar.

This project was delivered in partnership with Integrated Futures and is supported by funding from the Western Australian Government’s State NRM Program and Commonland.