Farming for nature and public benefits: exploring viable futures in Northern Ireland

Natural Capital Solutions and Morris Resource Economics were commissioned by the RSPB Northern Ireland to explore the added value that enhancing farmland nature can deliver, assess its viability in the context of changes to agricultural policy post-Brexit, and the need to address the climate and nature emergencies. The project explored two future scenarios across four case study farms (across lowland and upland livestock farms and one arable farm) using a natural capital asset and ecosystem service mapping and accounting approach, along with farm business assessment.

In this webinar Dr Jonathan Bell, Head of Land and Sea Policy at the RSPB Northern Ireland will lay out the policy context and need that was a driver for this project. Dr Alison Holt, Director of Natural Capital Solutions, will present the results of the study describing what would be required at the farm scale to move towards a climate and nature focused farming, how viable this would be for farm businesses across sectors in NI, and what policy support would be required to deliver a more sustainable farming.