Accounting for environmental, social, and economic impacts is an increasing priority for many organisations, and understanding and measuring natural capital, as part of this, is key. The Natural Capital Laboratory (NCL), set up in 2019 by AECOM, the Lifescape Project, landowners Emilia and Roger Leese, and the University of Cumbria, is a unique project to do just this: a live environment for identifying, quantifying, and valuing the impacts of re-wilding.

Located in the Scottish Highlands, near Loch Ness, the NCL set out to restore 100 acres of ancient Caledonian forest and reintroduce lost species. New digital tools and techniques have been adopted to track and communicate the complex data at scale, showcase the changes on the site, and create solutions which help tackle two of the biggest challenges of our times: climate change and biodiversity loss. 

Unlocking the environment through technology

Artificial intelligence (AI), drone technology, earth observation data, GIS data, and thermal imaging – all of these tools are being used to increase the accuracy of tracking the live environment at the NCL and reduce the cost of acquiring and analysing data. For example, drones have been flown over the site along a series of automated routes. These flyovers collect a consistent set of data on the site’s habitats, helping to build digital 3D models of the site. 

Throughout the project’s lifespan, we have captured this data in a digital natural capital accounting platform. This platform stores and correlates different elements of the environment from soil or water quality to the increase or decrease of species, and carbon measurements. The findings are also supported by GIS data, audio, videos, virtual reality, and time lapse footage. All this information is used to inform the priorities in terms of site management, more information is available online in the digital  natural capital accounting tool. 

Digital natural capital accounting tool

The digital accounting tool is an  online platform  designed to clearly navigate land and infrastructure owners through their natural assets. The data is made accessible through a digital dashboard drawing together complex elements such as the numbers and locations of plants and wildlife and records how these change over time. The  platform  can be used for monitoring changes in soil, air, or water quality and the movement and growth of animal populations. 

Financial estimates are provided for ecosystem services such as the amount of carbon captured by habitats on site, as well as the number of biodiversity units held. This enables better measurement and understanding of the benefits nature provides us, and is a framework that organisations can use to support their journey towards net zero, nature positive and biodiversity net gain targets. Where data is not available in terms of habitat types and condition on a site, machine learning is used to remotely collect and analyse this information using satellite and drone data. 

Enhancing the value of natural assets

The new technologies developed through the NCL have enabled clearer understanding of the social, environmental, and economic benefits provided by the natural environment, and the value they generate to business and society. These technologies also decrease the cost and complexity of collecting and analysing the data needed to understand and measure these impacts – making it easier to integrate them into each stage of decision making. 

This could be from early optioneering (using remote sensing to assess and quantify changes in habitats and carbon), through to monitoring and evaluation (collecting data on-site and presenting year on year change in an accessible manner). Ultimately, these methods will transform infrastructure and urban development projects – allowing for design to better anticipate the full range of impacts and deliver both reductions in carbon and gains in biodiversity. 

The team: collaboration and innovation

The project is being undertaken in collaboration with the landowners, local advisors, university research partners, conservation NGOs, and local communities. It has pulled together a vast range of technical specialists covering aquatic ecology, soil quality, social engagement, conservation, economics, virtual reality, AI, remote sensing, and drone piloting. This ongoing collaboration is delivering continual insights and innovations.

The project and the team are also working to be carbon negative through:

  • Tree planting and peatland restoration (to actively sequester and store carbon)
  • The use of site-generated renewable energy (solar and woodfuel)
  • The adoption of a plant-based diet while on site
  • Purchasing carbon offsets (from a REDD+ project)

In Year 2 it was estimated that the net carbon removals attributable to the project were 223 tCO2e, not including the additional carbon removed through offsetting.

NCL: the five-year research project

Year one results

The data and results collected in the first year of the NCL have supported and informed the rewilding plan for the site. Presenting data on baseline water quality, the condition of different habitats, and the ecosystem services of the highest value has ensured the site management plan is evidence-led. These results can be accessed via the digital natural capital accounting tool which allows users to take a virtual tour of the site and better understand the environmental, social, and economic impacts of the project. This includes the amount of carbon stored, the number of biodiversity units generated, the location and abundance of wildlife, and the health and wellbeing benefits of accessing the site.

Access the full Year One results

Year two results

Following a six month pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the second year of the NCL covered a number of different workstreams:

  • Rewilding – applying the IUCN CEM Rewilding Principles to management of the site.
  • Aquatic ecology – working with NatureMetrics to explore how traditional techniques combined with eDNA analysis could be used to measure and monitor change in the aquatic environment on site.
  • Visualisation – exploring how virtual reality can be used to communicate audio and visual change in the landscape as it is rewilded, culminating in a demonstration on the BBC’s Countryfile.
  • Biodiversity monitoring – exploring how the use of technology such as camera traps and audio monitoring equipment could be used to monitor terrestrial biodiversity.
  • Peatland restoration – monitoring the extent and condition of peatland habitats on the site to inform a plan for how they could be restored to benefit biodiversity and store carbon.
  • Capitals accounting – updating the natural and social capital accounts for the project to record change against the previous year, and developing an intellectual capital account.

Access the full Year Two results

Year three results

This has been one of the most research-intensive years, keeping the NCL staff busy on the following workstreams:

  • Biodiversity monitoring – expanding the installation of data collection equipment (camera traps and audio moths) and analysing the data from the monitoring stations on site.
  • Baseline fungal surveys – development of a baseline survey and understanding of fungal populations to determine their conservation value and contribution to ecological processes on the site.
  • Missing species – building on the rewilding aspect of the project, the missing species report explores the feasibility of reintroduction of priority species to the NCL.
  • Air eDNA – working with NatureMetrics to pilot the potential application of air DNA collection, which involves analysing air samples to identify species found on site.  
  • Peatland restoration – expansion of peatland investigations to understand peat extent and condition and to inform restoration activities in Year 4 of the project. 
  • Remote sensing – using satellite imagery and data to explore more accurate assessment approaches to quantifying the carbon sequestration and storage associated with trees across the NCL site. 
  • Soil surveys – to describe the baseline physical and chemical condition of the soils at the NCL for the purpose of monitoring the effects of rewilding on soil quality. 
  • Capitals accounting – updating the natural, social and intellectual capital accounts for the project to record change against the previous year, and integrating the findings from some of the new Y3 workstreams.  

Year four results

The fourth year at the NCL has seen the delivery of the following workstreams:

  • Biodiversity monitoring – review of 13 biodiversity metrics to inform the selection of ones most appropriate for the NCL, review of monitoring techniques, and review and analysis of data from camera traps and audio moths (including exploration of AI software to automate this analysis). 
  • Peatland restoration – preparation of the peatland restoration plan followed by the project team installing dams on the site to block the ditches and rewet the area to support recovery of the peat bog.  
  • Remote sensing – improvements to the carbon model developed in Year 3, analysis of very high resolution (VHR) satellite imagery for the site, and the first proof of concept of Neural Radiance Field model (AI approach to reconstruct a 3D representation of 2D images) of the NCL. 
  • Social value and engagement – a new, comprehensive framework for social capital accounting on site was developed to better understand and maximise the return on social value of the NCL.  
  • Capitals accounting – continued refining of the accounts for the site to reflect the rewilding interventions since the project inception.