Second Natural Capital Report

Our second Natural Capital Report (2022) follows one year on from our first report and focuses on Beldorney Estate in Aberdeenshire. It paints a picture of tremendous potential for increasing both carbon storage and biodiversity.

Summary

Once again, we have worked with a range of innovative organisations using cutting-edge methods to assess biodiversity and carbon stocks. While this report focuses on Beldorney, the results give an unprecedented insight into both our projects and the methods we can use to maximise benefits for the environment and people.

“I welcome the launch of the Highlands Rewilding Natural Capital report, which demonstrates in detail the many benefits of rewilding to the environment and local communities. Restoring Scotland’s natural environment at the pace and scale we need if we are to meet our climate and nature commitments requires significant investment across rural Scotland, and good, robust data like this is critical to justifying that investment and underpinning the continued growth in interest in this area.”

Lorna Slater, Minister for Biodiversity, Scottish Government

Through this work, we aim to develop standardised monitoring protocols that can be repeated on a regular basis at all of our rewilding projects, to build on the baseline work and quantify the impact of land-management interventions aiming to boost carbon sequestration and biodiversity. 

As this work progresses, we aim to record and publish our findings to ensure that Scotland can benefit from robust nature-based solutions as quickly as possible, helping to drive the development of high-quality, consistent and easily verifiable monitoring of biodiversity and carbon. Our aim is to drive investment in nature-based solutions.

The second Natural Capital Report covers the methodologies used, results found and land management plans.