Natural capital model

Samenvatting

As part of the expertise development within the WOT, and in collaboration with a number of other knowledge institutes, we worked in recent years on the Natural Capital Model. This model consists of a set of ecosystem service models and is designed to determining the biophysical state of the natural capital in the Netherlands (mapping), as well as estimating the effects of existing and new policy and future developments on this natural capital (modelling). The model determines the potential societal demand for goods and services and to what extent ecosystems in the Netherlands meet this demand. The aim of this report is to present the technical underpinning of the latest version of the Natural Capital Model, including model assumptions, data requirements and data outputs. With the right input, the model can generate figures and spatial maps for the thirteen ecosystem services provided by urban, rural and natural areas: drinking water production, wood production, biomass for energy production, pollination, soil fertility, water retention, urban cooling, water purification, pest control, carbon sequestration, air quality regulation, outdoor recreation and natural heritage. This report is written following the Status A quality criteria of the WUR. Status A quality is about model quality, describing the model, assumptions, and assessing validation, calibration and uncertainty analysis. Actually obtaining Status A, applying the model and improving the individual ecosystem service models will be a priority for the coming years.