Reframing Resilience: Natural Capital as Critical Infrastructure

When we think of critical national infrastructure, we tend to picture transport systems, power stations or built assets that support digital systems - the visible networks that keep our economy running. But there's another group of assets, barely accounted for in our economic models, that underpins every one of them: nature.

Our forests, rivers, soils and wetlands - collectively known as natural capital - provide the essential ecosystem services that sustain our economy and our lives. They regulate our climate, filter our water, protect our coastlines and supply the raw materials that feed industries and communities. Yet despite this fundamental role, natural capital is still not formally recognized as critical national infrastructure in the U.K. and risks being seen as a "nice to have" for policy makers in hard economic times.

At Jacobs, we're working with our clients to take a new approach. Our work makes the case for nature-based solutions and designing and building them on the ground - whether through coastal restoration, catchment management or urban blue-green networks. By combining natural capital and asset management approaches, we empower clients and governments to make better, more balanced investment decisions that account for environmental, social and economic value together.

A new policy paper from the Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP), supported by Jacobs, makes the case for changing that. It draws on existing evidence to show that natural capital meets the formal definition for critical national infrastructure and calls for natural capital approaches to be embedded in the U.K.'s infrastructure and economic decision-making.

Nature's value is key to protecting and unlocking growth

We often talk about nature in moral or ecological terms, or as a risk or constraint to development, but its economic importance has already been demonstrated. The Office for National Statistics values U.K. ecosystem services at around $2.42 trillion (£1.8 trillion) - equivalent to roughly 72% of the country's GDP. The Green Finance Institute estimates that environmental degradation could reduce gross domestic product by 6-12% by the 2030s - a greater loss than the 2008 financial crisis.

This isn't abstract economics. It's about the cost of water scarcity, soil depletion, flood damage, disrupted supply chains and declining productivity. Natural England's State of Natural Capital report warns that environmental decline threatens our ability to feed ourselves, generate clean energy and withstand climate and economic shocks.

At the same time, investing in nature creates economic opportunity. Every £1 spent on nature-based solutions can deliver up to £3 in economic and social returns - from job creation to improved public health and biodiversity. Recognizing that value and designing infrastructure that works with natural systems rather than against them are the next step in building resilience. Transitioning to a nature-positive economy is therefore key to the growth agenda, not counter to it. This is why Jacobs is a member of Rebuilding Nature, an alliance of cross-sector organizations who want to invest in nature now because it is critical national infrastructure.

Six actions to embed natural capital as critical infrastructure

The ISEP paper sets out six policy recommendations to embed natural capital in U.K. infrastructure planning and economic decision making:

1. Formally recognize natural capital as critical national infrastructure, essential to the performance of existing sectors and the government's growth agenda
2. Create a Strategic Nature Network (SNN) as a Government Major and Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project, to target investment where it will deliver the most ecological and economic benefit
3. Integrate the SNN into National Policy Statements and spatial planning frameworks, to drive consistent reporting and measurable progress
4. Mandate nature-related financial disclosures for critical sectors and public bodies, ensuring nature's value is reflected in investment decisions
5. Establish a Natural Infrastructure Investment Fund to finance early-stage nature recovery projects and give private investors the confidence to contribute
6. Develop training and guidance so public and private decision-makers can apply natural capital approaches consistently and effectively