Integrity is the bedrock of nature markets. It means that credits or units awarded and sold for benefits, such as biodiversity, carbon capture or water quality, must reflect genuine, lasting and additional environmental improvements.
Within the UK there is a need for a common set of overarching principles that would apply to nature-based environmental improvement projects and the quantification of ecosystem services. This starts with the principles to set the basis by which markets can be more effectively designed and governed. These principles will need to be built upon further through supporting nested standards that collectively provide a clear route to assurance.