Blue Natural Capital Project

In January 2024, Cornwall Council completed their Blue Natural Capital Project.

The Project, funded by the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (NEIRF) has expanded previously limited knowledge in Cornwall to provide a clearer understanding of blue carbon habitat extent and health, and created a baseline of evidence to inform options to unlock future private funding for natural capital in the county and beyond.

Through collaborative work with our partners, the Project has resulted in;

• Baselining: Surveys and analysis helped us understand the amount of carbon stored within kelp, maerl, saltmarsh and seagrass in two important Cornish coastal locations - Fal and Helford Estuary, and Mounts Bay.
• Modelling: We modelled the potential for recovery of these blue carbon habitats, plus completed Natural Capital and ecosystem service risk assessments, at the two key sites.
• Investing: The work informed the development of options for increasing investment in the marine environment in Cornwall.

The information created by the Project will help;

• Direct the next stages of blue carbon research, such as considering whole ecosystem carbon values (rather than just individual habitats) due to the complex cycling of carbon in the marine environment.
• Support the development of national blue carbon policy and processes, such as emerging Blue Carbon Codes and Marine Net Gain.
• Inform options for private investment in our marine environment via initiatives like Local Investment in Nature - Cornwall (LINC) which will support natural capital projects to engage with funders such as developer and businesses.
• Guide new local projects to restore and increase areas of blue carbon habitats, such as restoration of seagrass or no anchor zones.

The final reports from this project are now available to download to the right of this page.