This report provides a description of the national framework for water policy in England. It includes information on institutional and economic aspects of the mechanisms available to help the agricultural sector (farmers, contractors, advisors and supply chain) integrate environmental considerations into agricultural practices.
The assessment is part of the Channel Payments for Ecosystem Services (CPES) Project funded through the InterReg Programme. This is a collaboration between English, French and EU partners working to deliver Water Framework Directive (WFD) requirements in a number of rivers flowing into the English Channel.
The report aims to review the current water policy framework in England, and the role of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) to provide a baseline assessment. The baseline will be used alongside a similar review for France to inform development of future approaches to PES design. The new PES approaches will be trialled in comparative studies in local catchments. The baseline will help assess the effectiveness of these local trials at the end of the project.
The policy work is led by Dr Sara Hernandez (French partner). English partners include the University of Chichester, Westcountry Rivers Trust (Tamar catchment trial), Environment Agency Solent and South Downs Area, Portsmouth Water (West Sussex Groundwater catchment trial) and Southern Water (Western Rother trial).