British-Irish Council: Environment

Part of Ministerial Statements – in the Northern Ireland Assembly at 5:00 pm on 22 November 2016.

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Photo of Alastair Ross Alastair Ross DUP 5:00, 22 November 2016

The definition of natural capital is the elements of nature that produce value, directly or indirectly, to people, such as the stocks of forests, rivers, soils, minerals and oceans. It is, I think, fair to say it is a relatively new concept to the Department here in Northern Ireland, but it has monitored progress in the rest of the United Kingdom and in the Irish Republic to learn about the approach and the processes that have taken place. The Department here appears to have developed the concept further than others perhaps have, and it has asked the Office for National Statistics to incorporate natural capital into its budget decision-making process by 2020.

It is an incredibly complex issue. Placing value on forests, natural resources and peatlands is quite a difficult thing to do, and it obviously leads to discussion, debate and some level of disagreement. For example, with a forest, some people may put a higher value on the timber because of the uses it has for producing paper, whilst others will look at the forest's impact on and value for tourism and recreation. Where other jurisdictions have tried to put a value on some of their natural resources, it has led to widespread disagreement. I think that is indicative of the complexity in this. I know the Minister here in Northern Ireland is open to and intrigued by the concept and wants to make sure that officials carry out further work on it to see whether it is something we want to take forward here in the Province.