Revealing gaps in marine evidence with a natural capital lens

The natural capital concept positions the natural environment as an asset, crucial for the flow of goods and benefits to humanity. There is a growing trend in applying this concept in marine environmental management in the United Kingdom (UK). This study evaluates six varied marine decisions across England, Scotland and Wales. It focuses on the evidence informing these decisions and the extent to which they represent the complete spectrum of marine natural assets and ecosystem services. We identified a reliance on various evidence types, including consultations, data and statistics, maps and literature reviews. Natural assets such as aquatic resources and energy sources were most frequently evidenced. Fishing was the predominant provisioning ecosystem service benefit. There was a notable gap in evidence on marine habitats’ water quality regulation service. Recreation and tourism dominated the cultural ecosystem service evidence, with less focus on indirect uses such as spiritual nature connections. We reveal gaps in the evidence in marine decisions on significant marine ecosystem service benefits. Our study provides additional evidence to an already identified need to fill evidence gaps in marine water regulation and non-use values of the UK’s marine environments. This article is part of the discussion meeting issue ‘Bending the curve towards nature recovery: building on Georgina Mace's legacy for a biodiverse future’.