NEC05943 Natural Capital Knowledge Exchange to Support Healthy Local Economies (Open Call)

政府目前的两个目标是：按照2010年《地方增长白色文件》的规定，创造一个更公平和更平衡的经济，使全国各地都受益于环境可持续和代际公平的增长;并改善我们整个英格兰的自然环境质量，以实现自然价值的净收益，《2011年自然环境白色白皮书》中所述。为了实现这些目标，建立了地方企业伙伴关系（LEPs）和地方自然伙伴关系（LNP），目的是发展人与环境之间的互动，了解环境如何为经济做出贡献。这有助于实现政府的一项关键承诺，即“为地方决策者提供评估其土地和水资产所带来的惠益所需的工具，以便他们能够最有效地利用这些资产，无论是支持生计、当地社区、经济、提供公共产品还是个人享受。“政府认识到自然资本对经济增长和生活质量做出了重要贡献。目前，支持这一进程的现有知识和工具还很粗糙，往往难以应用，这是目前发展不同利益攸关方之间有效互动的一个障碍。在所开展的研究成果与利益攸关方用来了解自然环境价值的信息之间存在着相当大的差距。努力缩小这一差距是这项奖学金的核心，我将与NERC资助的相关研究成果和主要利益相关者密切合作，确保实现整合数据、模型和成果的机会。NERC资助了广泛的研究，重点是自然环境提供的价值和服务，该奖学金的一个关键部分将是与参与该研究的人员密切合作，以确保结果对利益相关者有用。相关方案包括水循环变化方案、生物多样性和生态系统服务可持续性方案以及重视自然网络方案，该研究金方案将与这些（和其他）方案密切合作，以确定在哪些方面可以解释与自然资本有关的数据集、研究结果和信息，供利益攸关方使用。我还将与LNP，LEP和地方当局合作，调查如何以最有用的格式提供信息，并展示如何支持决策。我将管理利益相关者和研究界之间的双向信息流，向NERC反馈目前阻碍LEP和LNP进展的持续科学需求。这一支持将进一步提高自然环境价值的形象，这反过来将有助于政府的长期目标“成为第一代离开英格兰的自然环境比它继承的更好的状态”。通过LNP和LEP以及通过直接参与与广泛的利益相关者进行磋商，将确保在最广泛的背景下理解环境的价值。将记录和分享在与不同利益攸关方群体交流知识方面吸取的经验教训，以便所取得的经验能够产生持久的效益。通过向利益攸关方展示国家能源资源中心资助的研究的有用性，预计这项工作将在研究、数据、证据、分析工具和模型的生产者和用户之间建立持续的关系。现有和未来NERC研究成果的应用将使LNP和LEPs能够采取战略方法来规划当地和跨地区的自然。这些关系对于自然环境研究的不断发展及其在为决定和政策提供信息方面的应用至关重要。

Two current ambitions of the Government are: to create a fairer and more balanced economy in which all parts of the country benefit from growth that is environmentally sustainable and inter-generationally fair, as set out in the 2010 Local Growth White Paper; and to improve the quality of our natural environment across England moving to a net gain in the value of nature, as set out in the 2011 Natural Environment White Paper. The Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and Local Nature Partnerships (LNPs) have been established in response to these ambitions with the aims of developing the interaction between people and the environment and understanding how the environment contributes to the economy. This contributes to meeting a key Government commitment 'to equip local decision makers with the tools they need to assess the benefits that come from their land and water assets so they can use them most effectively, be it to support livelihoods, their local communities, the economy, the provision of public goods, or personal enjoyment.' Government recognises that natural capital makes an important contribution to economic growth and quality of life. At present the knowledge and tools available to support this process are in places crude and often difficult to apply, and this is currently a hurdle in the development of effective interaction between the different stakeholders. There is a considerable gap between the outcomes of research carried out, and the information used by stakeholders to understand the value of the natural environment. Working to minimise this gap is central to this fellowship and I will work closely with relevant NERC-funded research outputs and key stakeholders ensuring that opportunities to integrate data, models and outputs are realised. NERC funds a wide range of research focussing on the values and services provided by the natural environment, and a key part of this fellowship will be to work closely with those involved in that research to ensure that results are of use to stakeholders. Relevant programmes include The Changing Water Cycle Programme, The Biodiversity & Ecosystem Service Sustainability and The Valuing Nature Network.This fellowship will work closely with these (and other) programmes to identify where data sets, research results and information relating to natural capital can be interpreted for use by stakeholders. I will also work with the LNPs, LEPs and local authorities to investigate how the information can be presented in the most useful format and to demonstrate how it can support decision making. I will manage the two-way flow of information between stakeholders and the research community, feeding back to NERC the ongoing scientific needs that currently hinder the progress of the LEPs and LNPs. This support will further raise the profile of the value of the natural environment which will in turn contribute to the Government's long term goal 'to be the first generation to leave the natural environment of England in a better state than it inherited'.Consultation with a wide range of stakeholders, both through the LNPs and LEPs and through direct engagement, will ensure that the value of the environment is understood in its widest context. Lessons learnt in exchanging knowledge with different stakeholder groups will be documented and shared so that the experience gained can have lasting benefit. By demonstrating the usefulness of NERC-funded research to stakeholders it is anticipated that this work will set in place ongoing relationships between the producers and users of research, data, evidence, analytical tools and models. The application of existing and future NERC research outputs will empower LNPs and LEPs to take a strategic approach to planning for nature within and across local areas. These relationships will be fundamental to the ongoing development of natural environmental research and its use in informing decisions and policies.