Integrating Natural Capital Accounting to inform nature-based solutions and development planning

About the event

The Himalayan Resilience Enabling Action Programme (HI-REAP), implemented by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), is organising a regional training co-designed with the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bengaluru, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru, and the Tamil Nadu Forest Department (TFD).

This training will bring together government officials from Nepal and Bhutan to engage with institutions involved in the Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) and Valuation of Ecosystem Services (NCAVES) initiative in India, combining institutional interactions, practical field exposure, and joint reflection workshops.

Objectives

• Enhance understanding of NCA and its relevance for valuing ecosystem services and integration into development planning.
• Build skills in tools, techniques, and data systems required for NCA implementation.
• Understand financing mechanisms and economic imperatives for sustaining natural capital and nature-based solutions (NbS).
• Foster cross-country collaboration between Nepal, Bhutan, and India and explore collaborative action and initiative in the region.

Expected outputs

• Strengthened technical and institutional capacities of participating officials in NCA
• Preliminary country-specific roadmaps for operationalising specific NCA and their integration into national planning and policy processes
• Enhanced knowledge of financing opportunities and data systems for NCA
• Strengthened Nepal–Bhutan-India collaboration for science and practice of NbS

Background

Globally, NCA has gained momentum as countries seek to integrate ecosystem values into economic systems and national accounts, with strong linkages to climate adaptation, sustainable development, and emerging green finance opportunities. Initiatives such as NCAVES have demonstrated how ecosystem services can be quantified and valued, providing an evidence base for investment and policy decisions. For Bhutan, this resonates with its development vision of Gross National Happiness (GNH), which emphasises the harmony of ecological well-being and human prosperity, and builds on recent work piloting NCA for Protected Areas. For Nepal, it aligns with the Green, Resilient, and Inclusive Development (GRID) framework, which highlights the importance of natural capital in sustaining livelihoods and resilience, and aligns closely with efforts towards forest accounting.

Strengthening capacities in NCA is therefore critical to enable both countries to mainstream NbS into development planning, access innovative finance, and deliver on national priorities while contributing to global sustainability goals.