This episode is part of RICS Legal Landscapes, a limited podcast series developed by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors which is CPD-compliant and designed to support professional development across the surveying profession and the broader built environment.

In this episode of the RICS Legal Landscapes CPD series of podcasts, host Charles Cowap MBA, MRICS, FAAV, FRAgS, PFIAgrM, CEnv is joined by Kate Russell FRICS FAAV CEnv ARAgS and Ben Sharples FRICS to unpack the fast-evolving world of natural capital.

You’ll learn what natural capital really means in practice, how markets such as biodiversity net gain, nutrient neutrality, and natural flood management work, and why land ownership structures, tenancies, trusts, and lender interests make these projects legally complex.

This episode of The RICS Podcast covers:

• What natural capital is and how it translates into soil, water, air, and functioning ecosystems on the ground
• How markets like biodiversity net gain, nutrient neutrality, and natural flood management operate and create new income streams
• The legal complexity of rural land and why it matters for long-term natural capital projects
• How policy change, government schemes, and private finance are shaping the future of natural capital and opportunities for farmers and landowners

Kate Russell FRICS

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-russell-a8137133/

Ben Sharples FRICS

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bensharples/

Charles Cowap MRICS

https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlescowap/

Ecosystems Knowledge Network

Wellbeing and prosperity for everyone through a healthy natural environment - Ecosystems Knowledge Network

Green Finance Initiative

Green Finance Initiative | Climate, Markets & Sustainable Investing News

Tellus Natural Capital

Tellus Natural Capital

Michelmores

Leading Natural Capital Law Firm - Lawyers | Michelmores

Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs - GOV.UK

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors:

https://www.rics.org/uk/

RICS Podcast Page

https://www.rics.org/podcast/

Kieran Halliwell

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kdhalliwell/