Natural Economy

Between 2006-09 the Natural Economy Northwest partnership has been at the heart of one of the most innovative regional programmes in England: a quest to identify, demonstrate and promote the economic value of the region's unrivalled natural environment.

Since its inception, global crises and national policy developments have served to underline the importance of NENW's work. The banking crisis of 2007-08 highlighted the vulnerabilities of the global economy; the recession of 2008-09 has emphasised the need to make the most of the UK's economic assets and opportunities; and the Copenhagen climate summit of 2009 served as a reminder both of the risks of climate change and of the need for early action.

Further into the future, the importance of food and energy security will increase as the UK moves towards a low-carbon economy. The Northwest's natural environment and its capacity to underpin and meet our needs are likely to prove vitally important in this process.

NENW's work has therefore been both timely and essential. It has helped to place the natural environment and its natural services at the heart of current thinking about sustainable economic development, quality of life and quality of place in the Northwest. These issues are being taken forward at a national level by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs through its ecosystem services approach.

A well-managed natural economy underpins the social, cultural and economic prosperity of the region. The environmental economy already generates £2.6bn GVA within the regional economy every year, and employs 109,000 people. In addition, it contributes towards economic security, the conditions for sustainable growth, and provides the natural services that are fundamental for economic and environmental sustainability.

The return on the region's investment is already becoming clear as the Northwest is now seen as a pioneer of work on the natural economy – an important part of the knowledge economy. The region has developed a unique and comprehensive set of resources through NENW and is well positioned to lead further research, innovation and delivery in this field.

The learning from the programme can be expressed in 8 key messages:

• Green infrastructure should be considered a critical infrastructure. It needs to be planned, managed and invested in at different spatial scales as with any other critical infrastructure.
• Green infrastructure delivers 11 themed benefits for a multitude of stakeholders.
• Natural environment projects must incorporate socio-economic outputs and outcomes to benefit society.
• Grey infrastructure projects must integrate green infrastructure for enhanced benefits and sustainability.
• Natural tourism is an important area of sustainable economic growth. The Northwest's stunning natural assets give it the potential to be a leader among the English regions.
• Businesses can benefit from the natural environment, and business is part of the solution for sustainability.
• We need to manage assets effectively in hard times to optimise the multifunctional benefits.
• The natural economy is a unique selling point for Northwest England.