A sustainable fund focused on improving water security in east England has been announced by US-headquartered non-profit The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Anglian Water with a target raise of £30 million ($38 mln).
The Norfolk Water Fund aims to gather a portfolio of nature-based solutions to improve management of the region’s water, in collaboration with non-profit Water Resources East, TNC said in a blog.
Over the next 18 months, the fund managers will deliver pilots in a phase costing £1.2 mln. The programme behind the fund, initially announced in 2022, has so far been supported by grants from TNC, Anglian Water, WWF, Norfolk Strategic Fund, and Norfolk County Council.
The fund will prioritise building more resilient watersheds along four rivers in Norfolk through river bank restoration, soil management, and arable grassland conversion.
The strategy aims to generate biodiversity net gain (BNG) off-site units and nutrient credits to raise revenue.
“From a financial perspective, through the nascent nutrient neutrality and BNG environmental markets, this portfolio could offer a good return on investment,” the Norfolk Water Strategy Programme said.
Under BNG rules, development projects in England need to achieve a net biodiversity improvement of at least 10% from Feb. 12.
Developers in some areas must also meet nutrient requirements by purchasing credits, with one unit representing 1 kg of nitrogen or phosphate mitigated through practices such as halting agricultural activities.
Should the fund achieve its targets, annual benefits could include an extra 3.7 mln cubic metres of water in the landscape, as well as offsetting 13,794 kg of nitrogen. Each £1 invested would deliver £6.70 in benefits, it estimated.
Source: The Nature Conservancy
The fund could generate £44.5 mln in revenue for farmers while accruing social, health, and wellbeing co-benefits, TNC claimed.
It seeks to set an international example of sustainable water management that avoids using engineered infrastructure such as dams.
“The county of Norfolk, located on England’s eastern seaboard, is rich in natural beauty and biodiversity from its rare chalk streams to its extensive wetlands,” said TNC.
“However, the agricultural region is also one of the UK’s driest, receiving about the same amount of rainfall annually as Lebanon.”
The region faces increasing threats to its water security.
By Thomas Cox – t.cox@carbon-pulse.com
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