This chapter provides an introduction to protecting natural capital and biodiversity in agricultural supply chains. After a brief overview, the chapter goes on to summarise what the volume is about by focusing on the areas that are covered in the rest of the chapters, such as ways to address biodiversity loss in both the international and UK context. It also discusses the decline of biodiversity in agriculture by using the case of the River Wye in the UK as an example.

• 1 Introduction
• 2 Addressing biodiversity loss: the international context
• 3 Agriculture, nature and biodiversity: the UK context
• 4 Agriculture and biodiversity decline: the case of the River Wye
• 5 The layout of this book
• 6 Conclusion
• 7 Where to look for further information
• 8 References

Dr Jill Atkins is Professor in Accounting at Cardiff University, UK and is also a Visiting Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Her research focuses on corporate governance, responsible investment, sustainability, integrated reporting and extinction accounting. She is Series Editor for the de Gruyter Studies in Corporate Governance and her leading textbook, Corporate Governance and Accountability, is now in its 5th edition. Professor Atkins is well-known throughout the ESG investment industry and governance area as a thought leader and is regularly invited to give keynotes at international practitioner and academic events.