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NCI's policy working group led by Dr Emer Ní Dhúill issues position statements on key events as well as consultations: read our recent statements below.

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NCI Pre-Budget Submission 2024

 

Natural Capital Ireland (NCI) submitted a number of pre-Budget recommendations to various Government departments to consider ahead of Budget 2024 - read more below:

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Natural Capital Ireland asks that the natural capital accounting approach be applied to ensure that Ireland’s natural resources and the valuable services they provide are taken into account within fiscal policy.

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NCI is a not-for-profit organisation made up of ecologists, natural scientists and economists, concerned groups and individuals, working within agriculture, business, academia, NGOs and across civil society, leading the call for natural capital accounting methods to be integrated into Irish policy since 2014. 

 

NCI believes - and the science shows - that the UN-backed System of Environmental-Economic Accounting is vital to ensure a joined-up, integrated approach to environmental and economic decision-making.

 

Our economy relies to a great extent on our natural capital assets and Ireland has an international reputation for our natural beauty, good quality food and rich heritage. Our businesses and our health are dependent on water and air quality, on insects for pollination - we need to consider how all these things interact and the natural capital accounting approach will ensure these aspects are built into all of our economic decisions.

 

Accounting for the nation’s natural assets and the important ecosystem services they provide will have a huge impact on our health, our industry, our tourism, with nature-based solutions key in the battle against climate change and for future sustainability. 

 

Natural Capital Ireland recommends the following priorities for investment in Budget 2024:

1. Invest in actions that support national assessments of ecosystem services and natural capital – including further developing the network of experts in natural capital and ecosystem accounting for the island of Ireland, with collaboration between relevant bodies, to ensure appropriate guidance is provided to key sectors. It's vital to invest in Ireland’s nature-related data infrastructure to support this. 

2. Develop central guidance through the Public Spending Code on valuing biodiversity and ecosystem services - building on the natural capital approach as piloted in Ireland by the EPA Research-funded INCASE project and as currently being developed for National Accounts by the Central Statistics Office Ecosystem Accounting Division.

3. Support the work of Ireland’s recently established Business for Biodiversity Ireland Platform (BFBI) which provides guidance on science-based actions and frameworks to enable the necessary transformation to nature positive. 

​From 2022:

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