Within the framework of the work carried out under the umbrella of the United Nations System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (UN SEEA), the United Nations Statistical Unit (UNSD) has presented at the IUCN World Conservation Congress the case study Business and Natural Capital Accounting Study: Quarry restoration by Holcim – Spain, developed with the technical support and expertise of Ecoacsa and the participation of the University of Castilla-La Mancha, the University Rey Juan Carlos. The publication is part of the EU-funded Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services (NCAVES) project and examines the alignment of Holcim’s natural capital accounting approach in Spain with the SEEA EA (System of Environmental Economic Accounting-Ecosystem Accounting).
The work carried out consisted of analysing the functioning of the methodology commissioned by Holcim España and developed by Ecoacsa, in collaboration with the University of Castilla-La Mancha, the University of Alcalá de Henares, ACER Associació, Brinzal and the Plegadis Group, for the mapping, measurement, quantification and valuation of ecosystem services generated in the restoration of quarries belonging to the Group. This methodology has national coverage and application and is designed to identify the risks and opportunities in the decision-making processes associated with the restoration processes. It has been developed and tested in the quarry that the cement company owns in Yepes-Ciruelos (Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain) and its tailormade approach is based on combining BIRS (Biodiversity Indicator and Reporting System, developed by IUCN) and the LBI (Long-Term Biodiversity Index, developed jointly with WWF) with a monetisation of ecosystem services.
Participation in NCAVES with this case study has contributed to the process of harmonisation of data needed for the development of standardised ecosystem accounting models on an international scale.
The main objectives of the NCAVES project include:
- Improving the measurement of ecosystems and their services (both in physical and monetary terms) at the (sub)national level.
- Mainstreaming biodiversity and ecosystems in (sub)national level policy-planning and implementation.
- Contributing to the development of internationally agreed methodology and its use in partner countries.
The objective of the approach is to attach a social dimension to the ecological restoration process, for which it develops a series of actions:
- Identification and quantification of ecosystem services, including their most prominent beneficiaries, provided by the restoration process of the quarry after its mining.
- Capturing and calculating the economic value of the ecosystem services provided.
- Valuing the social, economic and environmental benefits of the rehabilitation process from the ecosystem services approach, introducing – to the extent possible – this approach in decision-making on future restoration projects.
The objectives of this pilot case are defined as follows:
- To assess alignment of the chosen approach with the SEEA EA.
- To explore the availability of natural capital information at the regional level (Castilla La Mancha), national level (National Statistical Office), and/or global level (global data sets) and the extent to which it could be of use for the purposes of the ecosystem services assessment at the Holcim quarry and other quarries of Holcim Spain.
- To identify strengths and weaknesses in a) the type of regional, national and or global natural capital information from the business perspective, and b) the current natural capital assessment approach applied by Holcim (from a SEEA EA perspective).
- To identify opportunities for improvement, i.e. a) for making higher level natural capital information more user friendly and tailored to the needs of the company, and b) for better alignment of Holcim’s natural capital assessment approach with the SEEA EA.
Key conclusions
- The approach of Holcim Spain is demonstrating how restoration focused on conservation and biodiversity criteria encourages the presence and resilience of rare species or species of conservation interest, as well as generates value through cultural and regulating ecosystem services, due to the improvement of habitat conditions and the restoration of ecological and biological functions in the ecosystems. The lessons learned through this project have made public authorities aware that other restoration models with a greater cost-benefit balance for private companies and for biodiversity are possible (compared to traditional monoculture).
- From a technical point of view, Holcim Spain’s approach to combine biodiversity measurement approaches and metrics to get a more holistic picture of biodiversity value, i.e., measuring both habitats/species and ecosystem services, makes it one of the frontrunners in the business community when it comes to measuring biodiversity
- Holcim’s ambition to apply science-based approaches is another strength. The applied tools have proved to be scientifically robust (e.g. BIRS, LBI). Moreover, academia is engaged for field surveys and for elaborating and implementing biodiversity enhancement measures. With regard to ecosystem services, the efforts to explore site level approaches to generate more accurate data compared to the TEEB-based default value at corporate level, is a major step forward. The identification of priority ecosystem services based on stakeholder consultation is a strong approach.
- Most importantly, Holcim Spain’s approach complies quite well with the definition of ‘natural capital accounting’, i.e., “the process of compiling consistent, comparable and regularly produced data using an accounting approach on natural capital and the flow of services generated in physical and monetary terms” (from Capitals Coalition). It also shares many similarities with the SEEA EA.
Similarities with the SEEA EA
- The respective quarries can be considered as ‘ecosystem accounting areas’ (EAA), i.e. the area in scope of the accounts. The specific occurrences of different ecosystem types or habitats within the quarry can be considered as ‘ecosystem assets’.
- BIRS applies a spatial approach where different habitats (comparable to ‘ecosystem assets’) are measured in terms of extent and condition. The same applies to LBI.
- Holcim Spain’s approach to add an ecosystem services dimension makes this picture complete: ecosystem services flows are expressed both in physical terms and monetary terms (based on exchange values), which allows to compile ecosystem monetary asset accounts.
- The scenario approach for the quarry rehabilitation (i.e. plantation forest versus active biodiversity enhancement) is very useful as it provides much relevant information to inform decision-making.
Read on at UN SEEA
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