Natural capital is the world’s stock of natural resources including soil, rocks, waterways, oceans, air, and all living things that provide a flow of benefits or ecosystem services to people.
A global movement is underway to account for natural capital in the production of goods and services, aiming to prevent the degradation of these valuable resources over time.
A Natural Capital Profile (NCP) is a document that helps you to understand the natural assets on your farm. It compiles information on historical, current, and potential future states of your farm’s natural capital.
a baseline of your property’s current natural assets.
environmental stewardship, potentially supporting Environmental Social Governance (ESG) compliance, financing of business activities, new farm projects, and industry-specific programs.
actionable strategies for improving and monitoring the performance of your natural assets.
Refreshing Rivers Program is offering a free service within the three Target Areas (Riverina Highlands, Upper Billabong and Central Billabong) to work with landholders to better understand natural capital on their property. Once developed, the Natural Capital Profile document is permanently yours, serving as a valuable tool for strategic planning, application submissions and reporting requirements.
Tailored by our Project Officers, the NCP can cover various aspects based on your specific interests, including:
An overview of natural capital present on your farm
Mapping and condition assessments of waterways and wetlands
Lists of bird species and threatened species
A record of environmental conservation efforts on your property
Identification of risks and opportunities related to natural capital
Greenhouse gas emissions baseline and opportunities for carbon management
Each Natural Capital Profile (NCP) is tailored to a specific property. Your NCP may differ in structure and content to the sample document above.
Submit an Expression of Interest below. Our process is outlined as well so you can see the steps that follow.
Any information you provide via this form will not be used for marketing or advertising purposes.
Submit your Expression of Interest
A Project Officer will get in touch
Survey completion for insights and preliminary asset mapping
Property visit scheduled for discussions and data collection
Natural Capital profile is drafted and finalised with your involvement
Your Project Officer can assist you in taking recommended actions
This is a new area we are all learning about. Enrol in our free learning module to become familiar with this space and learn about helpful terms such as Ecosystem Services, Environmental Accounting, Environmental Certification and more.
ENROL TODAYImproving waterway health is an important part of improving environmental condition and ecological health in farming landscapes. These environmental benefits are significant because they support better ecosystem services, which in turn support agricultural productivity.
Ecosystem services are the benefits that people (and our livestock and crops) gain from plants, animals and micro-organisms in nature interacting together as a self-sustaining ecological system, or ecosystem. Biodiversity – the variety of different species of plants, animals and micro-organisms – is particularly important to ecosystem services.
These ecosystem services include nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, erosion control, pollination, water quality improvement, pest management and flood control, all of which can provide a significant contribution to agricultural productivity on your farm.
For example, a fenced waterway that supports healthy and biodiverse vegetation both in and along the waterway will be better able to filter a sudden influx of sediment off a burnt paddock further upstream. This filtration service minimises damage to the waterbody, which could have had serious impacts on water extracted for livestock, domestic use or town water supplies further downstream.
In the words of a landholder we are working with:
Our Project Officers are seeking eligible landholders within our three Target Areas who would like to have a Natural Capital Profile assessment of their farm.
If you are interested, please get in touch.
Central Billabong
0419 841 834
andrea@refreshingrivers.org.au
Upper Billabong
0418 198 522
kylie@refreshingrivers.org.au
Riverina Highlands
0427 407 126
cherie@refreshingrivers.org.au
Personal satisfaction, wellbeing and social benefits
Improving waterway health on your farm can have many positive benefits at a personal, social or wellbeing level.
Our conversations with the community show that healthy waterways are highly valued, and the Refreshing Rivers Program provides the opportunity for eligible landholders to be part of securing waterway health for the future.
The Program can connect you with a coordinated network of people, learning from each other and supported to implement best practice. Our Project Officers can work with you to find solutions to current waterway management problems you may have, and are there to assist you with deciding how to act on your farm to improve waterway health.
Many landholders also talk about the positive experience of seeing waterways returned to their former glory, for example through willow removal or revegetation. Others are pleased to know they’ll pass on their farms to the next generation with healthier waterways, while for some being able to go fishing or paddling with the kids at the creek is a reward in itself.
Riverina Highlands landholder with Project Officer, Cherie White
John Keogh with Upper Billabong Project Officer Kylie looking for Southern Pygmy Perch in his fenced waterway
John Keogh, ‘Yarra Glen’, Upper Billabong