South West Water/ University of East Anglia collaboration: Reducing River Pollution by Payments for Ecosystem Services

A team of environmental scientists and economists at the University of East Anglia (UEA), led by Professor ian Bateman (Principal Investigator for the NERC Valuing Nature Network) and including Dr Brett Day (economist) and Professor Kevin Hiscock (hydrologistL are examining the relationship between land use and the water environment with a particular focus on diffuse agricultural pollution.
The UEA team is interested in the ecological,social and economic benefits of changes in water quality that arise from policies which influence agricultural land use (taking into account coincident drivers of land use shifts such as climate change), and, as part of the second phase of the UK National Ecosystem Assessment (UK-NEA),have embarked on the construction of a model linking land use decisions to ecosystem services (the UI<-NEA land use model).

Water quality in rivers is also of significant interest to water companies who spend large amounts of money treating water to conform to Drinking Water Inspectorate potable water standards.

There is growing realisation in the water industry that stopping pollution at source, by paying farmers to reduce inputs of pesticides and fertilisers, may dramatically reduce their treatment costs. Given that such action is likely to generate significant external benefits (e.g. reducing pollution will enhance the ecological status of rivers bringing gains to recreationalists, those who fish the river,navigation authorities, etc.), the potential exists to create a scheme whereby the actions of private business promote substantial ecosystem service gains. Such activity aligns perfectly with the objectives of the UK Government Natural Environment White Paper (2011) and its subsequent Ecosystem Markets Task Force- a commitment which brings Defra and the business community together to pursue this objective.

The proposed internship therefore supports an existing collaboration that brings together the research expertise at UEA (recently rated in independent citation review as the premier institution in the field in Europe and third in the world) and a major water company, South West Water (SWW), to address an issue of direct Government interest.

All parties have committed resources into this endeavour including £251< from Defra, nearly £4001< from SWW while UEA is committing over £1001< in research time. The proposed internship would therefore lever extremely high added value by facilitating direct contact between all three parties. It is expected that this will greatly enhance the deliverables from this work.



Aim:


The aim is for the UEA to collaborate with SWW to design, implement and evaluate a Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) scheme in the catchment ofthe River Fowey in Cornwall. The scheme will involve SWW disbursing money to farmers through an auction in return for the farmers' commitments to land management practices to reduce pollution.

The ultimate aim ofthe PES auction will be:
a) reduce drinking water clean-up costs for SWW
b) create cleaner water to benefit recreational users and wildlife and enabling the river to meet the status required by the Water Framework Directive.

Findings from this internship will generate new findings, bringing together natural science with economics to refine a targeted and efficient PES auction mechanism.

The internship will also promote the integration of business into NERC's science agenda and feed directly into Defra's policy remit to expand the use of PES mechanisms (as per the Natural Environment White Paper and ongoing reform of the Common Agricultural Policy).