Scope and purpose of these web pages

The global use of biomass for food and energy is coming under careful scrutiny. Pressures for land use change to increase food and bioenergy supplies are growing at the same time as the global, national and local value of ecosystems is being recognised. Such systems provide vital goods and services in addition to biomass for food and fuel. Such value is not restricted to pristine habitats but extends across the full range of ‘degraded’, agricultural and urban landscapes.

The current system of global trade ensures that no country is an ecological island. The UK – and the wider European – economy draws on the economic goods and services originating from many ecosystems around the world. In addition to the outward flow of such materials as food, timber and biofuels there is an inward flow of business investment into these ecosystems which funds, in turn, the exploitation of ecosystem goods and services.

UK business is a significant source of ‘Foreign Direct Investment’ and the UK economy is a significant importer of raw materials intimately linking our economy with overseas ecosystems. This movement of capital and goods, along with the involvement of government and private enterprise, gives the UK significant scope to influence how these ecosystems are managed.

The concept of sustainable consumption and production – attempting to decouple economic growth from increased environmental impacts – is now an important research and policy areas within UK government. The concept also underpins the growing number of international fora concerned with ensuring sustainable production of major food commodities such as sugar, soya and palm oil. As part of its research and policy development the UK government has undertaken work to identify key imported commodities, track them to their source and understand the potential environmental impacts – including biodiversity impacts – of their means of production. A new (and still developing) example of this philosophy can be seen in the UK government’s determination to identify biofuels used within the UK and classifying and tracking them to source to ensure sustainable practices are encouraged.

The work of the UK government, and of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee which is developing these web pages, can be used to:

• quantify UK international trade and investment flows;
• identify key partner countries;
• evaluate the potential ecosystem impacts arising from the flow in goods and investments; and,
• highlight policy options for government and UK business to encourage sustainability.

Underpinning this work, and all that flows from it, is a strong reliance and emphasis on an evidence based approach. This approach involves the use and linking of economic and ecological data sources with the intention of highlighting where and how UK government and business can act to promote sustainable use of global ecosystems.

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