Catchment Management & Payment for Ecosystem Services

This post does not have the snappiest of titles, but do not let this fool you. Payment for Ecosystem Services is a developing concept and could have far reaching implications for land management. If a financial return can be generated for producing public benefits in the form of Ecosystem Services this could provide another income stream for land managers.

At present it is largely the domain of the scientists, but practical projects are developing to apply this concept in the wild. South West Water is running a scheme on Exmoor, other water companies are active in Northern England.

To keep up-to-date, it is worth a quickRead of the briefing note produced by the Valuing Nature Network. This is based on the discussion that took place at a meeting in Leeds in January 2013 where I gave a presentation on land management issues.