The development of a Whole-Farm Natural Capital (NC) Accounting Framework to support farm level decision making and sustainable land use practices.

The environmental impacts of modern agricultural systems are well documented, with intensification contributing to declining water quality, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and significant biodiversity loss. In Ireland, these challenges are particularly acute: agricultural land accounts for approximately 68% of national land cover, meaning that solutions to the climate, biodiversity, water quality and flood risk crises are unattainable without meaningful engagement from the farming community. At the same time, Ireland’s farm structure is dominated by small holdings, with 36% of farms classified as small, generating less than €8,000 per annum. This highlights the need for approaches that support environmental outcomes while maintaining farm viability and the right to farm.

 

While farmers are increasingly recognised as central actors in delivering national climate and biodiversity commitments, many require practical tools and incentives to enable this transition. Natural capital accounting (NCA) has been identified by the State as a promising mechanism to support sustainable land management, implementation of nature based solutions and to potentially underpin payment for ecosystem services (PES) schemes that reward farmers for delivering public goods such as carbon sequestration, flood mitigation, improved water quality and biodiversity enhancement. However, NCA remains poorly integrated into farm-level decision-making, particularly for small and medium-sized farms.

 

The Irish EPA funded FARM-NC (Farming Resilience and Management through Natural Capital) project addresses this gap by developing a transferable and adaptable whole-farm natural capital accounting framework. The project is implemented across three representative small to medium-sized Irish case study farms containing diverse natural capital assets and ecosystem service potentials. Using a participatory, systems-based approach, farmers and other decision-makers are embedded throughout the framework design process. Farm-level natural capital is mapped, measured and monitored using a combination of uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) surveys, rapid ecological assessments and targeted water level monitoring in flood-prone areas. These data inform the development of whole-farm natural capital accounts, alongside a methodological guide to support wider uptake. The framework explicitly links environmental performance to livlihood outcomes by quantifying the benefits of natural capital management and developing practical sustainability metrics. Project outputs are translated into policy-relevant insights through direct engagement with policymakers, demonstrating how farm-scale NCA can support agri-environmental policy, PES schemes and nature-based solutions that enhance both environmental sustainability and farm resilience.