The UK National Ecosystem Assessment (UK NEA)  is the first analysis of the UK’s natural environment in terms of the benefits it provides to society and our continuing economic prosperity.

• The UK National Ecosystem Assessment (on the UK NEA website)
• Hidden value of nature revealed in groundbreaking study (Defra press release)

The project has produced an independent and peer-reviewed assessment of the state and value of the UK’s natural environment and ecosystem services, identifying what has driven change observed in the natural environment and the services it has provided over the last 60 years, and what may drive change in the future. It includes an investigation into the monetary and non-monetary value to the economy, society and individuals from various ecosystem services, including how some of these may change in future.

Over 500 UK scientists and economists have been involved in the assessment which was funded by the governments of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, and by the Natural Environment Research Council and the Economic and Social Science Research council and cost £1.3m.

The assessment provides values for a range of services we gain from nature to help us fully understand the worth of the natural environment and how the benefits to individuals and society as a whole can be better protected and preserved for future generations. It stresses the need for a more collaborative approach to enhancing our environment, with everyone playing their part to capture more of nature’s benefits.

The six key findings of the assessment are:

• The natural world, its biodiversity and its constituent ecosystems are critically important to our well-being and economic prosperity, but are consistently undervalued in conventional economic analyses and decision making.
• Ecosystems and ecosystem services, and the ways people benefit from them, have changed markedly in the past 60 years, driven by changes in society.
• The UK’s ecosystems are currently delivering some services well, but others are still in long-term decline.
• The UK population will continue to grow, and its demands and expectations continue to evolve. This is likely to increase pressures on ecosystem services in a future where climate change will have an accelerating impact both here and in the world at large.
• Actions taken and decisions made now will have consequences far into the future for ecosystems, ecosystem services and human well-being. It is important that these are understood, so that we can make the best possible choices, not just for society now but also for future generations.
• A move to sustainable development will require an appropriate mixture of regulations, technology, financial investment and education, as well as changes in individual and societal behaviour and adoption of a more integrated, rather than conventional sectoral, approach to ecosystem management.