Perth NRM’s Natural Capital Accounting project was delivered in partnership with Integrated Futures and was supported by funding from the Western Australian Government’s State NRM Program, and Commonland. This project was also made possible thanks to the support and encouragement from our industry partners, including RegenWA, Wide Open Ag, Chem Centre, Sage Consultancy, and Cibolabs.

Project Summary

RegenWA has partnered with Perth NRM on a research project to assist farmers in making management decisions, enhancing communication of their
environmental performance, and ultimately improve their land stewardship practices.

Our farming enterprises are underpinned by ‘natural capital’ which helps to generate ecosystem services for food production. The land management practices of farmers are directly associated with the inherent value and productive capacity (natural capital) of farmland.

We have worked with 20 properties across WA to help develop the tools, techniques and measures to create a Natural Capital Accounting framework that will help guide policy and resources for the agricultural sector.

Read the full report here:

https://www.regenwa.com/NCA-Report

What is natural capital?

Vegetation, soil and microbes, water (above & below surface), wildlife and livestock, crops, pastures, riparian areas, and biodiversity corridors. This includes the NC we bring onto and export from the farm e.g. plant and animal products, fertilisers, water, and sediment runoff.

What ecosystem services does natural capital supply?

Carbon sequestration or storage, biodiversity conservation, habitat for predatory insects and pollinators, fodder for livestock and sale, soil regulation services, composting functionality, shade and shelter, reduction of erosion and nutrient leaching/runoff, quality water cycling.

What’s involved in natural capital accounting? Why should we measure natural capital?

Natural Capital accounting assesses the condition of natural capital, and tracks changes over time.

Tracking these changes can lead to more informed decision making, positive environmental outcomes, and improved wellbeing for humans and other lifeforms.

Farming For the Future have found a correlation between improved NC and improved production. Natural capital may support production efficiency by substituting for more expensive inputs like energy, fodder, animal health costs and labour. Verifying this is crucial to both informing farm management, and driving industry-scale adoption of improved NC managemenet.

Baseline and tracking natural capital also means farmers can be prepared for increasing pressure from supply chains, the finance industry, and governments.

“You can’t manage what you don’t measure”

Key Project Outcomes:

1) Participating farmers have a comprehensive NCA report which they can use as a baseline for on-going measuring, monitoring, and managing of on-farm natural resources, and to verify and demonstrate their land stewardship practices.

2) Government and other public investors have increased their capacity and capability to guide, measure and evaluate the impact of their investment in NCA in WA.

3) An interactive database platform has been developed, allowing farmers to evaluate, manage, and track their NC going forward.

4) Increased capacity of industry to understand what NC and NCA is, how it can influence farm performance, and the co-benefits NC provides.

5) This project has highlighted the need for WA-specific datasets due to its unique agro-ecological systems and farming enterprises and therefore on-going research and development is required.

Farming communities stand to benefit greatly from an NCA framework that allows them to measure, manage, and improve their land, and to effectively demonstrate the impact of their practices. By investing in NC management, farmers are enhancing the sustainability, resilience, and productivity of their farming systems. This in turn supports the broader community by increasing their capacity to feed a growing population.