Download Peter Wilmer, Natural Economy North West

The Economic Benefits of GI
GI Workshop
31 Oct 07
The Two Parts to my Presentation:
# Brief explanation of what the Natural Economy NW
Programme is and our progress to date,
# Summary of the findings emerging from the draft
Ecotec report on the Economic Benefits of Investing
in GI, commissioned by NENW.
What is Natural Economy Northwest?
• A three-year partnership programme that
maximises the benefit from existing and new
investment in the region’s natural environment delivering RES Action 113.
• A multi-agency/cross-sectoral partnership
resourced by Natural England, the Northwest
Regional Development Agency and the SITA
Trust.
• The Shared Vision – “A prosperous economic
future with a thriving natural environment”.
RES Action 113
Develop the
economic
benefits of the
region’s natural
economy
through better
alignment of
environmental
activities and
economic gain
……. and develop a
strategy for Green
Infrastructure and
Transport Corridors
NENW Programme
• Business Plan sets out several
programmes of activity ranging from
promotional and influencing activity,
training work, engaging with selected
demonstration projects to commissioning
reports and providing technical support.
• Two key strands of activity are the Natural
Tourism Programme and the GI
Programme-my focus from here on in.
NENW ORGANISATIONAL
STUFF!
• Programme managed by Natural England using funds comprising
the clever matching of a SITA Landfill programme with primarily
NWDA funding ( with some from NE), which pays for the small staff
team, on costs, plus limited budget for pump priming, technical
support, monitoring and communications.
• Formal governance is via a small Board representing the key
partners.
• Wider NENW Steering Group includes the key stakeholdersNWDA, NWRA, GONW, EnvAg, Forestry Comm., Community
Forests and other NGOs, UU, Tourist Boards, Natural England…….
• NENW GI Steering Group includes the above, and has two key roles
a) to direct the GI Strand of the NENW prog and b) to enable
increasing coordination between the agencies on GI in the Region.
• The NENW Natural Tourism Steering Group provides a similar
function for the NENW Natural Tourism Strand.
• The NENW Staff are all seconded to the Programme.
What is Green Infrastructure?
The region’s life support system; a
network of natural environment
components and green & blue spaces
that lies within and between the
Northwest’s cities, towns and villages,
and which provides multiple social,
economic and environmental benefits.
NENW GI Programme
NB - NENW Formal start 15 Jan 2007
• Ecotec Policy and Economic Benefits Reviews, &
City Greens study,
• Grey Infrastructure & Transport Corridors Review
• Lancs GI Strategy
• Work with the other 4 SRPs on Strategic Approach to
GI (+ support via Reg GIU)
• Strategic Funding Review
• Advice for Natural Economy Projects re maximising
econ benefits
• Regional GI Synergy/Inter–agency Coordination
• Selection of 6+ demonstration projects
Parallel activity on Natural Tourism
The Ecotec Report –
The Economic Benefits of GI
• Currently being finalised
• Been through many iterations,
including extenal review by
reps of the NWDA,NWRA,
GONW & NENW steering
Group
• Based on a thorough literature
review
• Identifies 9 categories of
economic benefit
• Seeks to make the link to the
NWDA’s Tasking Framework &
the 2 types of SAV –ie what
they have to deliver.
• For each category,
encapsulates the benefits, sets
out a model or diagram, and
then summarises the evidence
in a table, citing the references
• Also summarises the context +
links to key policies: eg RES,
RSS, Sub-regional Econ
Strategies, Sustainable
Communities (DCLG),
Ecosystem Services (DEFRA),
Climate Change and the SubNational Review
NB Economic development budgets tend to be bigger than environmental ones!!
The Economic Benefits of GI
•
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Flood alleviation and water management
Enhancing quality of place
Improved health and well being
Increased land and property prices
Creating a setting for inward investment
New opportunities for renewable energy production
Improving the tourism, recreation and leisure offer
New employment in land management and biodiversity.
Climate change alleviation
Ecosystem services and economic benefits
Flood alleviation
& water
management
Improved
Quality of place
health & well being
Supporting services
Climate change
alleviation
Land management
The
services
that
are
necessary for the production of
all other ecosystem services
including
soil
formation,
photosynthesis,
primary
production, nutrient cycling and
water cycling.
Land &
property
prices
& biodiversity
Creating &
Tourism recreation
& leisure
Renewable energy
production
setting for inward
investment
Ecosystem services and economic benefits
Flood alleviation
& water
management
Improved
Quality of place
health & well being
Provisioning services
Climate change
alleviation
Land management
The products obtained from
ecosystems, including food,
fibre, fuel, genetic resources,
biochemicals,
natural
medicines, pharmaceuticals,
ornamental resources and
fresh water;
Land &
property
prices
& biodiversity
Creating &
Tourism recreation
& leisure
Renewable energy
production
setting for inward
investment
Ecosystem services and economic benefits
Flood alleviation
& water
management
Climate change
alleviation
Land management
& biodiversity
Improved
Quality of place
health & well being
Regulating services
The benefits obtained from
the regulation of ecosystem
processes, including air quality
regulation, climate regulation,
water
regulation,
erosion
regulation, water purification,
disease
regulation,
pest
regulation, pollination, natural
hazard regulation;
Land &
property
prices
Creating &
Tourism recreation
& leisure
Renewable energy
production
setting for inward
investment
Ecosystem services and economic benefits
Flood alleviation
& water
management
Improved
Quality of place
health & well being
Cultural services
Climate change
alleviation
Land management
& biodiversity
The non-material benefits
people
obtain
from
ecosystems through spiritual
enrichment,
cognitive
development,
reflection,
recreation
and
aesthetic
experiences – thereby taking
account of landscape values;
Land &
property
prices
Creating &
Tourism recreation
& leisure
Renewable energy
production
setting for inward
investment
Flood alleviation and water management
BENEFIT
Improvement in the
quality of environment
within urban and
semi-urban locations
VALUE
Increase in Land and
House Prices
Reduction in Insurance
Premiums
Investment in Green
Infrastructure
Reduction in flood risk
for highly populated
areas
Encouragement of
inward investment
Lower clean up costs for
local and central
government
Increase in economic
activity, jobs and growth
Lower costs to
Environment Agency of
SUDS vs. Hard
engineering solutions
Increased canopy cover, increased greenspace and 'soft surfacing' and sustainable
urban drainage schemes (SUDS) reduce and control run off, improve absorption rates &
provide storage capacity, resulting in less dramatic flood events for urban areas,
thereby reducing the costs resulting from increasingly regular 'catastrophic' events.
Quality of Place
BENEFIT
Improved quality of
life for residents
Investment in
Green
Infrastructure
Increased
involvement of
local communities
in ownership and
management
Improved
attractiveness of
place for
investment
VALUE
Reduction in poor
health
Reduced
maintenance costs
through community
ownership and
management of green
space
Increased house and
land prices
New employment
opportunities from
Inward Investment
Enhanced GI provides for an improved sense of quality of place, providing opportunities for
recreation,empowerment through community ownership, and visual amenity, improving the
attractiveness of a neighbourhood with effects upon property prices, investment, employment
opportunities, and social capital.
Improved Health and Well Being
BENEFIT
VALUE
Reduction in
obesity levels
New opportunities
for formal and
informal recreation
Investment in
Green
Infrastructure
Increase in local air
quality - reduced
ozone, CO2
Reduction in costs to
the NHS and waiting
lists
Reduction in stress
related illness
Reduction in
Coronary Heart
Disease and
related illnesses
Increase in economic
activity and job
productivity
Reduction of illness
associated with
poor air quality e.g.
Asthma
Increased Green Infrastructure provides multiple health & consequent economic benefits,
through improved air quality, reduced stress levels, increased opportunities for informal &
normal physical activity and recreation, all contributing to the reduction of limiting long term
illness, and cost to the health services, reducing days lost to industry through illness
& improving productivity.
Land and property prices
Investment in
Green
Infrastructure
BENEFIT
VALUE
Higher demand for
neighbourhoods with
good access to green
space
Increase in House
Prices
Improved natural
environments within
urban and urban
fringe locations
Improvement to the
public realm and
urban design
Uplift in land values
New employment
opportunities
Developing green space and undertaking env. improvements in key locations has significant
benefits for housing and land prices. Proximity to high quality & accessible GI directly impacts
positively upon house prices. Greener cities increase visitors and spend on city centre retail
and leisure, improving rental values & increasing employment opportunities.
Creating a setting for inward investment
BENEFIT
Improved quality of life
and environment,
encouraging property
developers and investors.
Investment in
Green
Infrastructure
Revitalisation of DUN land
on permanent and
temporary basis
Green Business Parks
attracting knowledge
economy businesses
VALUE
Increased Land/
Property Prices
Growth in the
occupancy of vacant
units within Market
Towns/Key Service
Centres
Increase in economic
activity
The creation and development of green space and landscaping can encourage and attract
high value industry and workers. This can provide many benefits to urban areas in terms of
improvements in quality of life and an improved green environment can increase
opportunities for adding GVA to local economies.
Renewable energy production
BENEFIT
VALUE
New use for DUN
land for sustainable
woodlands
Investment in
Green
Infrastructure
Increase in the
number of people
accessing green
space and
recreation
opportunities in
woodlands
Opportunities for
agricultural sector
diversification
Reduction in CO2
Levels
Growth in local
access to wood,
biofuel, charcoal
markets
Increase in
production of
biofuels and
biomass
New employment
opportunities in
renewable energy
sector
Increased GI provides substantial opportunities to generate and
encourage the development of renewable sources of energy. Rural areas and the
agricultural industry undergoing structural change are provided with diversification
opportunities to supply local markets for biofuels and biomass, which in turn has
mitigation effects for climate change through cleaner energy generation and
reduced fossil fuel use.
Tourism, recreation and leisure
BENEFIT
Increased numbers of
people accessing new
woodlands and
greenspace for new
recreation
opportunities
Investment in
Green
Infrastructure
Growth in Natural
Tourism
“Green Cities” - more
attractive to investors
and visitors
VALUE
Safeguarding and
creating jobs for those
employed in Tourism
sector
New urban employment
from new visitor
economy
Increased economic
output through Natural
Tourism
GI plays a strong role in the generation of new recreation & leisure opportunities
and also stimulates economic activity within agriculture, forestry, and public services.
The potential to create green spaces within built up areas reconnects urban
communities with the land. Greening city centres attracts new visitors, in turn
supporting urban retail and tourism sectors.
Land management and biodiversity
BENEFIT
Growth in rural
diversification
opportunities for the
Land Based Sector
Investment in
Green
Infrastructure
Improved management
of the countryside
through Stewardship
Schemes
VALUE
Safeguarding and
creating jobs for those
employed in the Landbased sector
Increased economic
growth through local
procurement for
agricultural sector
Increased economic
output through Natural
Tourism and Niche
Markets
GI plays a strong role in supporting direct and indirect employment in agriculture,
forestry, land management and conservation industries. The potential to create green
spaces within built up areas reconnects urban communities with the land and
improves opportunities for local food marketing.
Climate change alleviation
BENEFIT
Providing Adaption
- microclimate control
- water management
Investment in
Green
Infrastructure
Enabling Mitigation
- carbon sink
- carbon sequestration
- O2 production
Improved Local Air
Quality
Reduced Carbon
Emissions
Local Energy
Solutions
VALUE
Reduced costs to
industry and
households
Delivering Climate
Change Levy Targets
GI provides natural air conditioning for urban areas (adaptation), reducing the need for
power consumption for heating and cooling, alongside its contribution towards
greenhouse gas absorption (mitigation) and longer term benefits in terms of managing
the impacts of climate change.
Woodland provides setting for
tourism, biofuels and education
GI in flood plain helps to manage risk
of downstream urban flooding
Upland grazing and moorland
drainage scheme slows and reduces
run-off
Riverside walk
Riding for the Disabled centre
on reclaimed brownfield land
Allotments
City Farm run
by community
Trees and green spaces in town
ameliorate effects of climate change
Sports pitches
Woodland improves air quality and
reduces particulates from motorway
GI adds value to adjacent properties
Country park on reclaimed industrial
site provides:
• Healthy leisure and exercise
• Urban wildlife
• Employment
Cycle route on disused railway line
Pond balances storm flow
Biomass operation run by social
enterprise supplies fuel to power
station
Commercial development set
within GI
Sustainable drainage system
Whole landscape scale benefits of GI
Outstanding Issues
• Quantification and the contribution GI makes to
GVA - how to compare the contribution
investing in differing “bundles” of GI will make to
closing the N/S GVA Gap as against other
demands on economic development budgets?
• Free riding - how to get all the benefiting
agencies, & other beneficiaries (eg the private
sector), to invest to secure “their” benefits?
• Who pays to ensure the ongoing underlying
ecosystem services - without which…………??
The Economic Benefits of Investing
in GI
ECOTEC (2007)
[email protected]
www.naturaleconomynorthwest.co.uk