Research project: exploring the economics of land use change for increasing resilience to climate change in England

Tender description

A research project to determine a set of land use case study scenarios that would increase both the resilience of non-developed land to climate change, and the stock of natural capital, and quantify the costs and benefits of these scenarios compared to a 'business as usual' baseline. The aim of this research is to understand how different land use and/or land management choices in specific locations in rural England could deliver benefits in terms of resilience to climate change and the provision of natural capital. The types of case study scenarios that might deliver such benefits include, for example, re-wetting of lowland peatlands; restoration of upland peatlands; afforestation; diversification of farmland; or integrated water management. The project has two parts: a) The project team should determine a plausible set of land use change or land management case study scenarios, for particular geographical areas in England that would likely deliver net benefits for climate change adaptation and the stock of natural capital under different future climate scenarios, out to 2100. The land use scenarios need to be realistic and measurable but do not need to represent an optimised future (i.e. other plausible scenarios could exist that are not assessed as part of this contract). b) The project team should characterise these scenarios using metrics from the ASC's indicator framework. As far as possible, the social costs and benefits of these scenarios should also be quantified to show how the net benefits from a social perspective differ compared to a baseline scenario where land use and management stays as it is today.