atural Capital Project director Mary Ruckelshaus, former lead scientist Heather Tallis, and software head Rich Sharp got a chance to share the NatCap message with a global audience last week through a presentation to the Commonwealth Club of California, the nation’s premier public affairs forum.

The three took turns discussing why and how nature’s services can be incorporated into land management and other planning to benefit humans socially and economically while protecting the integrity of ecosystems. The many examples they offered ranged from minimizing hurricane damage by protecting coastline habitat to ensuring clean water by protecting watersheds upstream. For a super synopsis of what NatCap is all about, listen to the presentation online.

A partnership of Stanford University, The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, and the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment, NatCap develops and promotes tools for incorporating incorporating the value of nature into decision making. Learn more at naturalcapitalproject.org.

Photo of coastal wetlands by USFWS Headquarters via Flickr/Creative Commons. Photo of Mary Ruckelshaus by L. Herrada-Rios