Valuing Nature in Rail Infrastructure: Applying the new ECOV4R Framework

28 October 2026, 12:15 - 13:15 GMT

In this webinar, Marie-Claire Jalaguier, AtkinsRealis, and Ian Dickie, eftec, will discuss the Ecosystem Valuation for Railways Framework for valuing nature in rail infrastructure.

ECOV4R is a practical, scalable framework designed to support railway infrastructure managers, asset managers, and policymakers quantify, value, and integrate ecosystem services into rail infrastructure decision-making.

Developed for the International Union of Railways (UIC), ECOV4R enables the rail sector to:

• Bridge the gap between Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and business case development  by providing robust, auditable evidence of both positive and negative impacts.

• Demonstrate and monetise the societal and financial value of ecosystem services (e.g. flood mitigation,  carbon sequestration, biodiversity).

• Enhance climate resilience and operational reliability by leveraging nature-based solutions (NbS).

• Support compliance and leadership in sustainability, biodiversity net gain, and climate adaptation.

The Framework is applicable across project lifecycles – from planning and construction to operation, enhancement, and evaluation. It is applicable on both a local and landscape level and is adaptable to a range of ecological and operational contexts.

The session will explain the key steps of the ECOV4R Framework and demonstrate how the Framework was applied through two pilot studies. In England’s Evenlode catchment, ECOV4R was used to assess natural flood management measures across 3,900 hectares, identifying an estimated £59.2 million in net ecosystem-service benefits over 100 years. In Spain, it was applied to mitigation measures along a completed 16-kilometre high-speed rail section, identifying an estimated €2 million increase in ecosystem-service value over 100 years. The pilots illustrate how the framework can be adapted to different project stages, spatial scales and evidence bases, while also highlighting practical considerations including data availability, spatial scope, expert judgement and value transfer.

About the Speakers

Marie-Claire is a Chartered Environmental Consultant (C.WEM) at AtkinsRéalis, specialising in natural capital and environmental economics. She has experience applying environmental economic approaches to infrastructure and environmental projects, supporting clients to better understand and integrate the value of nature into decision-making. Her work spans the water, energy and transport sectors and includes natural capital assessment, ecosystem service valuation and the development of approaches to assess the wider environmental and societal benefits of interventions. Marie-Claire has contributed to the development and application of the ECOV4R framework, which supports the integration of ecosystem services and wider value considerations into rail infrastructure decision-making. She is passionate about using environmental economics to strengthen the case for investment in the environment.

Ian is a Director of eftec with over 25 years’ experience as an applied environmental economist. Ian leads eftec's work on natural capital and has directed natural capital accounts for over 50 organisations in the finance, transport, water, forestry, ports, and agriculture sectors across four continents. He has managed over £5 million worth of environmental policy research and analysis in the UK, including developing national ecosystem accounts for the UK, EU and Caribbean Countries; biodiversity net gain market analysis; and on marine management. Ian is a member of the Climate Change Adaptation Committee, an author of the Natural Capital Protocol, a technical author of the UNDP's Biodiversity Finance Guide (BIOFIN), and was technical editor of the BSI Nature Market Principles Flex701 Standard (published March 2025).