RICS Legal Landscapes - Navigating the complexities of natural capital with Kate Russell FRICS, Ben Sharples FRICS & Charles Cowap MRICS #226 Artwork

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The RICS Podcast

RICS Legal Landscapes - Navigating the complexities of natural capital with Kate Russell FRICS, Ben Sharples FRICS & Charles Cowap MRICS #226

January 26, 2026 • The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors • Episode 226

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/

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