Catchment Management Looking to the Future Dr Dylan Bright Head of Sustainability South West Water
Our current partners
A history of catchment scale conservation
• Fortress conservation - you commandeer land or the right to do certain things on land (SSSI, SAC, NVZ & WPZ) - requires costly purchase and/or enforcement, disenfranchises/excludes people, is inherently fragmented. • Win‐win ‐ you find win‐wins for land owners that save them money and improve the environment, and foster land management change ‐ delivers economic benefits but land protection is voluntary and subject to global prices. • Incentives ‐ Paid Ecosystem Services (PES) ‐ beneficiaries pay providers for ecosystem services ‐ needs assessment of potential services and understanding of buyer
Setting up a market in theory
New Market
Willingness to Pay Estimate cost/benefit Sell to customer
Ethical Broker
Agree target areas Ensure multiple benefits Minimise administration
Farmer
Willingness to be Paid Offset actual value Management/Covenant
Setting up a market in practice
SWW
‐
Estimated cost/benefit ratio of up to 65:1 = reduced risk ‐ Sold to OFWAT ‐ 65p from every bill payer = £9 million
Laurence - WRT
- Ensure works and advice creates multiple ecosystem benefits - Minimise admin costs - Monitor concept
Farmer
- Instigate farm resource management plan - Pay for remaining non grant aided work - Change practices
Current and future plans
•
Upstream Thinking (Raw Water Catchment Management) : • Targeting : Now and the future • Delivery: Now and the future • Evidence: Now and the future • Funding: Now and the Future
Areas can then be assessed and management plans created
Conservation potential UST Targeting and Funding: Now
Other activities were noted and included explicitly in focusing actions.
Farmland projects 2010-2015
UST Targeting and Funding: Future • Needs to embrace WFD, BWD. • Needs to embrace NIA, H and S Directive • Needs to meet DWI needs • Needs to meet predicted water resource needs • Needs to accommodate all of societies other needs!!!!
Management plans that effect the Tamar
UST Targeting: Future
• Catchment Based Approach • Pilot by WRT on the River Tamar • Perhaps a glimpse of the future........
DEFRA asked WRT to Pilot a new integrated approach in the Westcountry. A community approach… • Relevant interest groups identified to ensure inclusiveness • 7 working groups established (met 3 times during year) • Over 60 workgroup representatives (plus many others involved outside meetings) • Every attempt made to make use of (link) existing information/plans • Other activities arranged e.g. farm walk, presentation to Chamber of Commerce Ecological Networks Group
Carbon Management Group
Water Resources Group
Recreation Activities Group
Engagement & Food Group
Water Quality Group
Point Pollution Group
Water Quality The group identified land most likely to have an impact on water quality: Soil hydrology & condition • Run-off risk • Leaching risk Topography (i.e. slope) Hydrological connectivity • Proximity to watercourse • Flood plain • Surface & sub-surface flow accumulation Land cover • Natural habitats (wetland, woodland or peatland) • Farmed land (tillage or permanent grass)
Flooding
Drought
Carbon Sequestration
Spaces for wildlife
Recreational Resources
Land Value
Bringing it all together
Current and future plans
•
Upstream Thinking (Raw Water Catchment Management) : • Targeting : Now and the future • Delivery: Now and the future • Evidence: Now and the future • Funding: Now and the Future
• Capital intensive • Big push to deliver capital actions. • Revenue actions linked to contracts and covenants company can capitalise the actions. • Funded by SWW mainly but other markets need to be mobilised.
UST Delivery: Now For over 15 years WRT and others have developed and refined farm management advice • Originally 44 measures – now >80 • Designed to minimize loss of pollutants from farms • Optimised for on-farm usage to increase yields and save costs • Additional tools available via the purchase of easements over land
UST Delivery: Now Method name 4Establish cover crops in the autumn Early harvesting and establishment of crops in the 5 autumn 6Cultivate land for crops in spring rather than autumn 7Adopt reduced cultivation systems 8Cultivate compacted tillage soils 9Cultivate and drill across the slope 10Leave autumn seedbeds rough 11Manage over‐winter tramlines 13Establish in‐field grass buffer strips on tillage land 14Establish riparian buffer strips 15Loosen compacted soil layers in grassland fields 16Allow field drainage systems to deteriorate 21*Fertiliser spreader calibration 22*Use a fertiliser recommendation system
4Establish cover crops in the autumn Early harvesting and establishment of crops in 5 the autumn Cultivate land for crops in spring rather than 6 autumn 25*Do not apply manufactured fertiliser to high‐risk areas 85 100 Avoid spreading manufactured fertiliser to fields at high‐ 26* risk times 85 100 7Adopt reduced cultivation systems 27*Use manufactured fertiliser placement technologies 2 100 31*Use clover in place of fertiliser nitrogen 15 100 8Cultivate compacted tillage soils 32*Do not apply P fertiliser to high P index soils 50 100 33*Reduce dietary N and P intakes 30 100 9Cultivate and drill across the slope 37Reduce field stocking rates when soils are wet 75 100 38Move feeders at frequent intervals
33
100
39Construct water troughs with a firm but permeable base Increase the capacity of farm slurry (manure) stores to 52 improve timing of slurry applications 54Install covers on slurry stores Minimise the volume of dirty water (and slurry) 57 produced
15
100
5 3
100 100
20
100
0 5 85
100 100 100
40 40 30 5 5 0
100 100 100 100 100 100
65Change from a slurry to solid manure handling system 67Manure Spreader Calibration 68Do not apply manure to high‐risk areas Do not spread slurry or poultry manure at high‐risk 69 times 72Do not spread FYM to fields at high‐risk times 76Fence off rivers and streams from livestock 78Re‐site gateways away from high‐risk areas 79Farm track management 81Establish and maintain artificial wetlands
Current Uptake (%)
Scenario uptake (%) 35
100
95
100
30 5 10 5
100 100 100 100
UST Delivery: Now
100% uptake
UST Delivery: Future
• Large Capital investment programme, may reduce... • Shift to support and advice to maintain good operational standards and intangible assets.. • Resilience in the context of population growth, climate change, new legislation...
Current and future plans
•
Upstream Thinking (Raw Water Catchment Management) : • Targeting : Now and the future • Delivery: Now and the future • Evidence: Now and the future • Funding: Now and the Future
Not only do you get this integrated delivery through a mixture of normally disparate funders...
Current and future plans
•
Upstream Thinking (Raw Water Catchment Management) : • Targeting : Now and the future • Delivery: Now and the future • Evidence: Now and the future • Funding: Now and the Future
