Methodology

The methodology for the retrospective natural capital assessment was originally split into six core tasks, as outlined below (Core tasks seven and eight involved presentation of the project findings and communication and project management). However, through the development of the project, it was agreed that an additional five tasks would also be undertaken, including the pilot studies identified in 'Areas to note'. Further information of the core and additional pilot tasks can be found in Table 2‑1, with an overview of task outcomes presented in 'Outcomes'.

Core tasks

  • Task One: Framing the assessment
  • Task Two: Natural capital baseline assessment
  • Task Three: Scheme impacts on natural capital (pre-mitigation)
  • Task Four: Effects of mitigation, compensation and enhancement and development of a ‘balance sheet’
  • Task Five: Identification of alternative mitigation, compensation and enhancement measures
  • Task Six: Capturing wider benefits (social value)

Additional Pilot Tasks

  • Ancient woodland pilot
  • Historic environment and natural capital assessments pilot
  • Habitat connectivity pilot
  • Summary document (this document)
  • Detailed quantification and valuation of ecosystem services

The following sections highlight the rationale for each of the additional pilot tasks.

Ancient Woodland Pilot

When task outputs of the retrospective natural capital assessment were shared with stakeholders, SEPA identified that it was not overtly clear whether woodland affected by the scheme was ancient or non-ancient woodland.

In Scotland, ancient woodland is defined as land that is currently wooded and has been continually wooded, at least since 1750 (NatureScot, 2020. A guide to understanding the Scottish Ancient Woodland Inventory).

Typically, within natural capital assessments, ancient woodland is considered as a quality indicator of natural capital assets. The retrospective natural capital assessment aligned with this typical approach acknowledging that ancient woodland has intrinsic importance due to:

  • its age and inability to be replaced
  • its value as a habitat for the species it supports and habitat connectivity, and
  • its significant carbon stores

Despite this, as the coverage of ancient woodland is significant across the study area, it was agreed that further consideration should be given to ancient woodland as a distinct natural capital asset, in the form of an Ancient Woodland Pilot, to fully capture its ecological and cultural value. This pilot took into account the significant work previously undertaken to accurately map and verify ancient woodland sites across the A9 projects.

Historic environment and natural capital assessments pilot

Whilst there is an acknowledgement across the natural capital discipline that the historic environment provides more than cultural services, traditionally, the historic environment is captured through the assessment of cultural services within a natural capital assessment. Cultural services can be described as ‘environmental settings that enable cultural interaction and activity’ and typically include recreation, aesthetic value, education, interaction with nature, and sense of place.

Feedback from stakeholders requested that the historic environment be considered beyond cultural services to acknowledge its importance, for example as a contributing factor to wider ecosystem service provision, including provisioning and regulating services. Accordingly, a Historic Environment and Natural Capital Assessment Pilot was agreed to be completed, with HES working alongside Jacobs and Transport Scotland to develop an approach which allows the historic environment to be better integrated within natural capital and wider environmental assessments.

Habitat connectivity pilot

Upon reviewing outcomes of the retrospective natural capital assessment, stakeholders identified that location elements and respective contributions to ecosystem service provision could benefit from being explored further.

As such, it was recommended that additional pilot work could be undertaken to explore the contribution of natural capital asset location (and specifically habitat connectivity) to the provision of ecosystem services.

Habitat connectivity refers to the degree of movement of organisms or processes within and between ecosystems (Crooks, K.R. and Sanjayan, M. 2006. Connecting conservation: maintaining connections for nature. In: Crooks, K.R. and Sanjayan (Eds) Connectivity Conservation, pp 1-20. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge).

Summary document (this document)

Once all tasks were complete it was considered beneficial to produce a summary document to outline each of the tasks and their outputs, to summarise methodologies used and tie together the outcomes of the retrospective natural capital assessment. This summary document will provide an overview of the assessment which aims to be accessible to a wider audience than the technical notes provided to date, allowing wider sharing of key assessment outcomes and take-home messages. The summary document (i.e. this document) is not included in Table 2‑1 as information regarding description and purpose is provided within the wider document.

Detailed quantification and valuation of ecosystem services

Finally, it was decided that a detailed quantification and valuation of the changes in natural capital assets and ecosystem services associated with the A9 Project 4 should be undertaken. This exercise was undertaken to allow Transport Scotland to understand the monetary value associated with changes in natural capital and ecosystem service provision associated with the proposed scheme.

The description, method, and purpose of each task is outlined below in Table 2‑1.

Table 2‑1: Outline of completed tasks

Task one - framing the assessment

Method

  • Workshop with the Environmental Steering Group held on 7th July 2020 to:
    • Define aims, objectives, and outcomes of the project
    • Provide an overview of the methodology
    • Gather information to inform the natural capital assessment
    • Understand perceived opportunities, benefits, and values associated with natural capital assets across the study area
    • Discuss how a natural capital approach fits in with wider A9 strategic documents
    • Gain feedback on the proposed approach and answer any queries
  • Prior to the workshop, a briefing pack was provided to Environmental Steering Group members to complete, including similar information to the workshop, yet in more detail
  • Following the workshop, a data framework, containing an overview of the proposed data to be used for the natural capital assessment, was circulated to attendees for comment
  • Following stakeholder feedback, additional sources of data were identified

Purpose

Defining suitable data for the assessment: To determine what data was available for the identification of asset quantity, quality, and location.

Early stakeholder engagement: To gain buy-in to the approach and to allow for a more detailed understanding of client (and wider stakeholder) viewpoints.

Outputs

  • Briefing pack
  • Workshop
  • Workshop notes
  • Data framework

Task two - natural capital baseline assessment

Method

Use of logic chain (introduced in Section 1 of this report) to identify:

  • natural capital assets in terms of quality, quantity, and location
  • types of ecosystem services which may be provided by such assets
  • types of benefits we gain from services, and
  • examples of value associated with benefits (monetary and non-monetary)

Identification of drivers/pressures and risks relating to natural capital across the region.

Purpose

Defining a natural capital baseline: Collation of information (inclusive of that presented within the Environmental Statement) allows for the development of a natural capital asset register, which acts as a snapshot of the existing natural capital across the study area.

Identifying drivers/pressures and risks: An understanding of existing trends is important, allowing differentiation between impacts of the A9 Project 4 Scheme and wider externalities which may result in ecosystem change and may need to be managed in the future.

Outputs

Task Two technical note including appendices relating to:

  • Natural capital asset register (quantity assessment)
  • Natural capital (quality assessment) information
  • Natural capital (location assessment) information
  • Habitat mapping

Task Three - scheme impacts on natural capital (pre-mitigation)

Mitigation refers to measures intended to avoid, reduce, or offset potential adverse environmental impacts.

Method

  • Review of Environmental Statement chapters for the proposed scheme to determine potential impacts on natural capital assets and ecosystem services, pre-mitigation.
  • Spatial analysis to determine which natural capital assets are located in areas subject to works (and potential temporary and permanent impacts on ecosystem service provision). Spatial analysis involves the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to visually display data, usually in the form of a map, making it easier to observe patterns.

Purpose

Identify impacts of the proposed scheme (pre-mitigation) on natural capital assets/habitat types and associated ecosystem service provision.

Outcomes

  • Task Three technical note
  • Graphic demonstrating links between natural capital and EIA methodologies

Task four - scheme impacts on natural capital (post-mitigation) and development of a ‘balance sheet’

Method

  • Review of the Environmental Statement for the proposed scheme to identify significant residual impacts and implications for natural capital and associated ecosystem services (post-mitigation).
  • Spatial analysis of environmental mitigation defined within the Environmental Statement to determine impacts on natural capital and ecosystem services (post-mitigation).
  • Review of relevant documents (such as the A9 Dualling Programme – Strategic Environment Assessment Environmental Report (2013)) to reflect on early perceptions of ‘what good looks like’, to determine whether this is reflected in natural capital outcomes. Similarly, consideration was given to how the proposed scheme aligns with policy documents, such as the National Transport Strategy and Draft Infrastructure Investment Plan Consultation in relation to natural capital.

Purpose

Provide an overview as to where natural capital assets have been impacted (either adversely or beneficially) as a result of the scheme and when considering mitigation, compensation, and enhancement measures.

Outputs

Task Four technical note

Task five - identification of alternative mitigation, compensation, and enhancement measures

Method

  • Collation of outcomes from previous tasks
  • Stakeholder workshop to summarise the outcomes of the retrospective natural capital assessment to date and to identify opportunities for natural capital enhancement
  • Wider discussion with other environmental disciplines to share outcomes of the retrospective natural capital assessment and identify opportunities for enhancement (This primarily comprised discussions between the internal Jacobs team and the EIA lead and ecology disciplines)
  • Review of the Environmental Statement to identify any further opportunities for natural capital and ecosystem service enhancement beyond existing environmental commitments
  • Review of previously identified drivers/pressures and risks when considering the outcomes of the retrospective natural capital assessment and whether further recommendation for inclusion can be made

Purpose

Provide an understanding of how natural capital assets (and associated ecosystem services) could have been enhanced as a result of the alternative/additional measures.

Outputs

  • Task Five technical note
  • Workshop
  • Workshop notes

Task six - Capturing wider benefits (social value)

Method

  • Social value mapping through use of the A9 Dualling Programme community benefit toolkit. The A9 Dualling Programme Community benefit toolkit is a series of metrics aimed to generate wider value across the programme.
  • Within the toolkit, the metrics were broadly captured under the Scottish Government’s National Performance Framework (NPF) outcomes. However, for ease of analysis, and to allow the individual metrics to be mapped against the NPF outcomes, the metrics were captured across six broad themes: community, employment, education, poverty, economy and environment.
  • Community benefit toolkit metrics were then mapped against three documents:
    • A9 Dualling: Perth to Inverness Sustainability Strategy
    • Scottish Government’s National Performance Framework, and
    • Jacobs and Simetrica-Jacobs’ Before & Beyond the Build

Purpose

Provide an understanding of the wider social, environmental, and economic benefits that could be explored within scheme development and provided during construction and delivery.

Make recommendations as to how wider benefits and greater social value could be generated by the proposed scheme.

Outputs

Technical note, supported by a Social Value Mapping Exercise

Ancient Woodland Pilot

Supporting technical note to provide an assessment of ancient woodland across the study area and implications for the existing retrospective natural capital assessment.

Method

  • Spatial analysis to identify areas of ancient and non-ancient woodland within the study area
  • Research to identify the level of ecosystem service provision associated with ancient woodland, when compared to non-ancient woodland
  • Application of research findings to ancient woodland assets identified
  • Decision making as to whether the ability of ancient woodland to provide services such as biodiversity and cultural services should be revisited to reflect special qualities of the ancient woodland environment

Purpose

To consider whether ancient woodland should be considered as a separate asset within the retrospective natural capital assessment, independent of wider woodland (and therefore part of the ‘quantity’ assessment).

To consider whether the ability of ancient woodland to provide services such as biodiversity and cultural services should be revisited to reflect special qualities of the ancient woodland environment.

To progress the natural capital discipline and consideration of ancient woodland within such assessments.

Outputs

Ancient woodland pilot technical note.

Literature review of ancient woodland and ecosystem service provision.

Historic Environment and Natural Capital Assessment Pilot

Pilot looking at integration of the historic environment within natural capital assessments, through collaboration with HES (outcomes included within the Ancient Woodland Pilot report as synergies existed between both pilots).

Method

  • Consideration of the historic environment data currently available such as the Historic Land-use Assessment (HLA)
  • Discussion between HES and Jacobs as to how existing datasets could support future natural capital assessments
  • Preliminary work undertaken by HES to apply historic environment data across woodland environments
  • Discussions as to whether natural capital methodologies could be adapted to include age/time-depth in landscape as one of the key components of a natural capital asset, which determines the level of ecosystem service provision.

Purpose

To understand how the historic environment could be better incorporated within natural capital assessments, beyond consideration of cultural services.

Outcomes

Ancient woodland pilot technical note (Section 6 provides a supplement on ‘Integrating the Historic Environment within Natural Capital Assessments’.

Habitat Connectivity Pilot

Supporting technical note to provide an assessment of habitat connectivity across the study area and implications for the existing retrospective natural capital assessment.

Method

  • Identifying a suitable habitat connectivity method to meet the needs of the project.
  • Identification of which ecosystem services are most dependent on locational factors.
  • Mapping exercise to determine habitat connectivity and connectivity for people, allowing for a habitat connectivity baseline for the study area to be developed.
  • Assessment of the proposed scheme’s impact on habitat connectivity and natural capital pre- and post-mitigation.

Purpose

To explore the contribution of natural capital asset location (particularly habitat connectivity considerations) to the provision of ecosystem services and how this is impacted by the proposed scheme.

The outcomes of the assessment will contribute to the development of the natural capital discipline and consideration of locational factors for future assessments.

Outcomes

Habitat connectivity pilot technical note.

Supporting mapped outputs displaying habitat connectivity and connectivity for people.

Detailed Quantification of Ecosystem Service Flows and Valuation

Pilot quantifying the positive and negative impacts to the flow of ecosystem services from natural capital assets in monetary and non-monetary terms.

Method

Purpose

To understand the monetary value associated with changes in natural capital and ecosystem service provision associated with the proposed scheme.

Outputs

Detailed Quantification of Ecosystem Service Flows and Valuation pilot technical note.