The Importance of Natural Capital in Scotland

Introduction

The Scottish Government wish to commission economic analysis to determine which sectors in Scotland rely on high quality natural capital, and quantify the economic value (in terms of GVA (gross value added) and employment) of these “nature-dependent” sectors.

Background & Context

Natural capital is the world’s stock of natural resources including air, water, minerals and all living things. These natural resources underpin Scotland’s economy and are of vital importance to our wellbeing and economic performance. Our natural capital:

• provides many of the foundations that allow our society and economy to thrive – for example through the provision of ecosystem services (such as clean water, carbon sequestration, and food, etc.).
• can significantly improve physical and mental health – helping to support a wellbeing economy that is focussed on benefitting wellbeing, and boosting productivity and labour market participation.
• is crucial to many of Scotland’s businesses – providing natural resources (for example, through provisioning services such as timber, fuel, and food), climate and air pollution regulation (regulating services), and by playing a vital role in Scotland’s brand and reputation, attracting visitors for recreation and tourism (cultural services), and supporting Scotland’s exports.

However, estimates of how Scotland’s natural capital contributes to economic activity vary. Developing a sound, transparent and repeatable method for measuring the economic value of sectors reliant on Scotland’s natural capital will allow for these benefits to be better taken into account in policy development, and give an indication of the relationship between natural capital and the economy.

This work is different from the natural capital accounting in publications such as the Natural Capital Accounts. Instead of valuing the impact at the level of stocks and flows of specific natural assets that provide ecosystem services, this work will look at the economic value in terms of GVA and employment figures of industrial sectors (or proportions of sectors) which are dependent on natural capital.

Lots

This procurement was divided into 1 lots, each awarded separately. 4 bids were received in total.

Government spending data: This supplier has received £777,056,146 in 10,110 payments (over £25k) from Department for Transport, DEFRA, Department for Education, BEIS, DfT GPC and 20 more public bodies (2012-06-06 to 2026-05-29). View full payment history →

Tender Documents

• The Importance of Natural Capital in Scotland → — Award notice