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Sustainable management of resources

Dr Nicky Cannon

Professor in Agriculture

Natural Capital

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What is Natural Capital?

  • ‘The world’s stocks of natural assets which include geology, soil, air, water and all living things’ (Definition from the World international forum on Natural Capital 2021)
  • It is from this natural capital that humans derive a wide range of services, often called ecosystem services, which make human life possible.
  • Services include the food we eat, the water we drink and the plant materials we use for fuel, building materials and medicines. There are also many less visible ecosystem services such as the climate regulation and natural flood defenses provided by forests, the billions of tonnes of carbon stored by peatlands, or the pollination of crops by insects. 

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How does agriculture influence Natural Capital?

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The Natural Capital Framework (Defra 2023)

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Description: As of November 2022, the estimated damage value to the agricultural machinery sector of Ukraine due to the Russian invasion amounted to nearly 2.9 billion U.S. dollars. Manufactured products and grain storage facilities followed with the damage value of about 1.9 billion U.S. dollars and 1.1 billion U.S. dollars, respectively. Read more

Note(s): Ukraine; November 2022

Source(s): Kyiv School of Economics; Latifundist; Toplead

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Estimated value of damages to agriculture due to the war in Ukraine as of November 2022, by product category (in million U.S. dollars)

Value of damages to agriculture in Ukraine 2022, by product category

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Factors influencing natural capital

💣

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And agriculture is part of the problem and the solution........

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The Ideal Soil

Contains

  • 25% air
  • 25% water
  • 45% minerals such as sand, silt & clay
  • 5% organic matter

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The Challenges Ahead......

  • The bi-products of war
  • Increased demand for food partially due to population growth
  • Environmental degradation
  • Climate change
  • Global warming
  • Water shortages

https://population.un.org/wpp/Graphs/Probabilistic/POP/TOT/900

Try: https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/

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Green-house gases on farms

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http://www.fao.org/3/a-i6340e.pdf

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Land Use, Land-Use Change and

Forestry (LULUCF)

Notes: LULUCF = Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry. Total estimated UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions in 2019 were 454.8 MT CO2e

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Source: Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, 2019

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Congressional Research Service 2022

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Threats to soils

  • Erosion
  • Compaction
  • Loss of soil organic matter
  • Desertification
  • Sealing
  • Acidification
  • Nutrient depletion
  • Contamination/pollution

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World Bank 2014

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Key soil risks from climate change�

  • Milder, wetter winters
    • ↑ risk of soil erosion
    • ↑ risk of nutrient leaching
    • Saturated soils making spring establishment more difficult
      • ↑risk of soil compaction
  • Hotter, drier summers
    • ↑ risk of drought
    • Potential Autumn crop establishment problems
    • ↑ risk of shrinkage of peat soils and wind erosion on light land
  • More extreme weather incidents

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Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) 32nd President of USA�‘The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.’�

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World Bank 2014 https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/755621468319486733/pdf/918500WP0UKRAI0E0Box385344B00OUO090.pdf

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Carbon Cycle on Farm

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Measures to reduce soil and water damage on farms

A well-managed watercourse ensures good drainage but has enough vegetation

to filter out sediment.

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Water in agriculture

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https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/infographic/2023/07/26/water-in-agriculture

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Water Use on farms

  • Nearly 70 percent of global freshwater withdrawals are directed toward agriculture, mainly for irrigation
  • Demand for water will rise due to climate change and increases in world population
  • Important as agriculture can
    • Use water inefficiently on farms
    • Cause pollution to water courses

https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/figures/agricultural-industrial-and-household-water-prices-in-late-1990s

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Areas of water consumption in the UK

Embedded Water Definition

Embedded water is the amount of water used in the entire process of producing, retailing and consuming (cooking for example) a product. It is also referred to as virtual water, embodied water or shadow water. The concept is very similar to embedded carbon 

Source: Waterwise

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The Pearl River Estuary, Guangdong Province, South China

See Quingdao on:

https://www.beforetheflood.com/explore/the-crisis/sea-level-rise/

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Why did the Aral sea shrink?

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  • Agricultural products water footprints

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Taste before you waste (2023)

  • Hidden Valley Lake (2023)

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https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1109936109

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Example of embedded water in beef production�

Source: Waterwise

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/embedded-water/

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Improving water use on farm

Drip irrigation, delivered with the help of equipment that constantly monitors soil moisture, improves crop quality and yield while using less water.

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https://www.worldometers.info/water/ukraine-water/

Ukraine's water withdrawals

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This potentially makes Ukraine one of the most vulnerable zones

to water shortages.

Agriculture will need to adapt both in cropping and water efficiency

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https://www.who.int/news/item/02-05-2018-9-out-of-10-people-worldwide-breathe-polluted-air-but-more-countries-are-taking-action

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Air and agriculture

  • Air can be polluted by agriculture in the following ways:
    • Nitrogen Compounds (nitrous oxide and ammonia)
    • Dust
    • Odour
    • Smoke (Farm Waste Management controls have reduced this substantially)

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Effect of air pollutants on plant growth

Emberson 2003

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Soil, air and water are closely linked

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https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/2022-05/2022-05-24-sustainable-agriculture-benton-harwatt_4.pdf

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A model for improving Ukraine’s natural capital after the war

Naumenkova et al (2023). Debt-for-nature or climate swaps in public finance management. Problems and Perspectives in Management

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Challenges for Agriculture

  • These are many challenges both to cope with in building back whilst also adapting and mitigating climate change
  • Every farm has a part to play
  • Important to understand the implications of all systems and operations

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  • Lots of challenges but loads of opportunities

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References