By 2021 undertake a costed audit of the public benefits of sustainable land management, and use it to support an increase in the total level of funding to support farmers and landowners undertaking that management
How the local partners are doing on this objective
Progress: A first set of Natural Capital Accounts has been produced for the National Park. For the first time, the results give a consistent picture of the natural capital: the extent and condition of natural capital assets, and – crucially – the benefits they provide to businesses in the region and their value to the rest of the society. The project was funded through the Northern Upland Chain Local Nature Partnership, and provided similar Accounts for the Northumberland National Park and the Forest of Bowland, Nidderdale and North Pennines AONBs.
Rationale: This goes to the heart of sustaining a viable agricultural economy in the context of the National Park’s special qualities. It attempts to provide further evidence to support the concept of payments for ‘ecosystem services’, whereby those who manage and farm the land are properly rewarded for the full range of public benefits that ‘high nature value’ farming can provide. This will, increasingly, include private sector ‘payments for ecosystem services’, alongside public sector investment (so-called ‘blended finance’).
Lead partner: Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority;
Supporting partners: Natural England; Forestry Commission; Environment Agency; Dales Farmer Network; Yorkshire Dales Farming & Land Management Forum
Further information:
Cost over 5 years: £100,000
Funding shortfall: None
Related objectives: A3; A6; A8; A9; C1; C2; C3; D1; D3; D5; E9
Ecosystem services: None directly
Trade-offs: None
Baseline: No audit.