October 11, 2012 – Prague, Czech Republic: National Ecosystem Assessment: the UK Experience: Interview with Ian J. Bateman, University of Anglia, and UK-National Ecosystem Assessment
The need for the UK National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA) arose from findings of the 2005 global Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, which not only demonstrated the importance of ecosystem services to human well-being, but also showed that at global scales, many key services are being degraded and lost.
The UK NEA – commenced in mid-2009 and reported in June 2011- was the first analysis of the UK’s natural environment in terms of the benefits it provides to society and continuing economic prosperity: it
was an inclusive process involving many government, academic, NGO and private sector institutions.
Ian J. Bateman, Head of Economics for the UK-NEA, summarises in a non-technical language the
rationale for such a comprehensive exercise and illustrates some of its main results.