Mott MacDonald has appointed technical principal Jackie Fookes as natural capital and ecosystem services lead. Jackie will lead the company’s natural capital and ecosystem services projects and initiatives as it builds its capability in the development of approaches.
Jackie has worked at Mott MacDonald for the past 12 years, holding the position of technical principal and regional team leader. She has specialist knowledge in environmental impact assessments (EIA) for nationally significant infrastructure and highways projects.
Key projects Jackie has been involved with include the Medway and Swale Estuary Strategy, which involved developing the proposed compensatory habitat schedule using a Natural Capital Ecosystem Services approach. She was also environmental project manager for the EIA and all technical environmental development consent order documents for the Norwich Distributor Route. This involved gaining innovation tax relief for using GIS based techniques with ecosystem services and natural capital assessment modelling for carbon and sustainability assessments.
Mott MacDonald has been expanding its capabilities in the development of natural capital approaches in recent years. This has included assisting a water company with prioritising options in their long-term water resources plan, advising an oil company on their social impact in a fragile habitat, and providing supplementary advice on an Environmental Impact Assessment for a trunk road in the UK.
The company has also developed a tool with Cranfield University which quantifies the value of green infrastructure. The tool gives location context, selects relevant ecosystem services, applies relevant adjustment factors to each monetary value and gives qualitative analysis of the values.
Commenting on her appointment, Jackie said: “I’m excited to have been appointed to this role and am looking forward to acting as a focal point for all natural capital and ecosystem services related projects. These are now gaining traction with our clients, institutions and government departments so it is crucial that we bring these approaches to add value to a huge range of projects.
“Mott MacDonald is in a privileged position, with a wealth of knowledge and passion already accrued, as well as the support of respected academic institutions, so the very real aspiration of becoming acknowledged market leaders in this space is absolutely within our grasp.”
