The committee made a number of recommendations including a recommendation for government, working closely with the private sector and NGOs, to develop a comprehensive strategy, and corresponding 25 year plan, to protect and improve natural capital.
Government is expected to respond to the committee’s report but not before the election, so it will be up to the post-May 2015 Government to decide how to take the recommendations forward.
The Natural Capital Committee was set up following a recommendation in the 2011 Natural Environment White Paper. The White Paper set out an objective “to be the first generation to leave the natural environment in a better state that it inherited”.