Natural Capital

Natural capital is the term used for the natural resource stocks from which resource flows and services (e.g. nutrient cycling, erosion protection) useful for livelihoods are derived. There is a wide variation in the resources that make up natural capital, from intangible public goods such as the atmosphere and biodiversity to divisible assets used directly for production (trees, land, etc.).

Within the sustainable livelihoods framework, the relationship between natural capital and the

Vulnerability Context is particularly close. Many of the shocks that devastate the livelihoods of the poor are themselves natural processes that destroy natural capital (e.g. fires that destroy forests, floods and earthquakes that destroy agricultural land) and seasonality is largely due to changes in the value or productivity of natural capital over the year.

Examples of natural capital and services deriving from it:

• Land

• Forests

• Marine/wild resources

• Water

• Air quality

• Erosion protection

• Waste assimilation

• Storm protection

• Biodiversity degree and rate of change.

For all these it is important to consider access and quality and how both are changing.