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  • The Dutch Atlas of Natural Capital (ANK) has been launched on September 22 of 2015. All content has now been translated to English. The ANK can be found at http://www.atlasnaturalcapital.nl.Until now, our focus has been on making the data we have available to anyone who wants to make use of it. Now, we move on towards enhancing the applicability of the data. To this end we developed the Netherlands Natural Capital model based on the National Land Cover and Ecosystem Units map. The model consists of a set of input maps, a simulation tool and output maps which define the relationship between the ecosystems and the services they provide. The model includes the following ecosystem services: food production, wood production, biomass-based energy, coastal protection, maintenance of soil fertility, air quality regulation, erosion control, carbon sequestration in biomass, cooling in urban areas, pollination, noise regulation, green recreation, health and residential amenity. The services are simulated at a 100 and 10m grid-scale.In the coming period we want to test the applicability of the maps in various pilots studies, cooperating with various stakeholders, from civilians to local communities and our colleagues from the reasearch institutes in the Netherlands as well as in the European Union.For communication purposes a brochure on ANK has been developed. You can find it at https://epublicatie.minienm.nl/atlas-natuurlijk-kapitaal#/slide_atlasvanhetnatuurlijkkapitaal(e-zine with downloadable pdf in English).
  • The TEEB-city project has delivered a tool which calculates the monetary value of green areas in cities. On the 31st of May, 2016, the TEEB-city tool and Atlas of Natural Capital joined forces in the City Deal “Values of Green and Blue in the City”. The agreement was signed by the Ministries who developped the tools, over 20 municipalities, several knowledge institutes and other relevant parties, who agreed  to co-operate on improving and integrating the existing tools for better decision making regarding natural capital.
  • The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) conducted an extensive programme from 2014-2016 with conceptual analysis, cross-sectoral evaluations and case-studies all focusing on the application of the TEEB-model in practice. The final results of this programme were presented on a conference on May 19th of 2016 and can be found at http://themasites.pbl.nl/natuurlijk-kapitaal-nederland/natural-capital-netherlands/results .The results of the various case-studies are feeding into different policy fields on both the national and regional level, such as nature-inclusive flood-defences, future food policies and greening the CAP, new coalitions between farmers and water companies, habitat banking pilots, etc.
  • After successful pilots (phase I) in some municipalities and the province of Limburg, the Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS) together with Wageningen University & Research (WUR) started work on phase II of a National Natural Capital Account, building on the SEEA-EEA and the MAES- frameworks. CBS is constructing Physical Supply Use Accounts of Ecosystem Services (2013), a reference Land Cover Ecosystem functional Units (LCEU) map (2006), a Carbon account (2013), Ecosystem Condition accounts (2006 and 2013), and a Biodiversity account (2013).  The next work package will be the development of monetary supply use accounts and an experimental asset account of ecosystem services (2013). All of this work focuses on possible policy implementation of these accounts.
  • Wageningen Environmental Research (WUR; formerly Alterra) has, in cooperation with PBL, RIVM and the Belgian INBO and VITO, started a project to create a scenario tool for natural capital. This instrument should enable authorities, assessment agencies, companies and other stakeholders to estimate the effects of strategies or policies on natural capital and ecosystem services. The project also aims to provide a range of practical approaches for various actors concerning natural capital. A prototype will be delivered at the end of 2017, which will be tested and improved in the years thereafter. The final tool will be integrated in the Atlas Natural Capital.
  • The Dutch Platform on Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Economy (Platform BEE), together with IUCN and the ministry of Economic Affairs, organised an international conference on Natural Capital (“Let’s talk business!”) on November 23-24 2016 in The Hague, back to back with the 3th EU B&B Annual Conference and the first WAVES-Policy Forum. The conference brought together global front runners among companies, organizations and governments to discuss aspects of implementing natural capital approaches in daily business. (See http://www.conference-naturalcapital.nl/).At the conference, more than 75 companies and organizations signed the “Den Haag Business Accord on Natural Capital”, in which parties committed themselves to “doing business with care for the future and using natural capital in a more sustainable way”. The declaration can be found at: http://www.conference-naturalcapital.nl/upload/files/Den%20Haag%20Business%20Accord%20on%20Natural%20Capital%2024-11-2016.pdfThe conference also marked the end of the 5-year agreement of cooperation between VNO-NCW (Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers), IUCN NL (the International Union for Conservation of Nature in the Netherlands) and the knowledge community in the platform BEE. The experience of more than 50 companies who have conducted natural capital projects under the umbrella of the platform are showcased in a brochure: http://www.conference-naturalcapital.nl/upload/files/AGNTNL147%20NATKAP_ENG%20DIGI.pdf
  • The national cooperation on natural capital between business, nature organisations and government will be continued from 2017 onwards in a different form, focussing on the upscaling and speeding up of implementation of the natural capital principles in daily practice of companies (especially SME’s), using approaches based on the natural capital protocol.For this cooperation and upscaling a new online Natural Capital Community started in December 2016 (http://naturalcapital.futureproof.community/).
  • In November 2016 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands co-hosted the first WAVES policy forum in The Hague. WAVES (Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services) is a World Bank-led global partnership to promote sustainable development by ensuring that natural resources (including ecosystems and ecosystem services) are mainstreamed in development planning and national economic accounts.The forum brought together 45 participants from 15 countries, including the European Union and high-income countries like Australia, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, with experience in calculating and using NCA, to discuss the progress of and perspectives for improving policymaking with Natural capital accounting.The Netherlands, a WAVES donor partner, not only hosted the conversation but also contributed to the discussion by compiling the findings of their 40-year long experience with NCA in a new publication, From Statistics to Policy (Netherlands Environmental Assessment agency, PBL). A compilation of the conference and more content can be found at:  https://www.wavespartnership.org/en/waves-hosts-first-policy-forum-netherlands-government
  • In summer 2017 a national guide will be published about accounting for impacts on ecosystems and ecosystem services in societal cost-benefit analyses. This guide will among other themes build on the latest developments in Natural Capital Accounting.

Date: 15/03/2017