The Westcountry Rivers Trust has developed a participatory approach to mapping ecosystem services, using the Tamar River Catchment as a pilot in 2012. The aim of this pilot was to bring together stakeholders within the Tamar catchment and to create an integrated and cost-effective management plan. Around 100 individuals representing over 30 organisations formed ‘ecosystem service working groups’. These groups sought to map areas important for the delivery of each ecosystem service identified, and define opportunities for management that could improve ecosystem service delivery. The working groups focussed on: provision of water quality; regulation of water quantity; habitats for wildlife; carbon sequestration; and recreation, leisure and culture. The maps sought to identify the current level of ecosystem service provision, and identify multifunctional areas of the catchment where multiple ecosystem services can be enhanced.
Westcountry Rivers Trust, Tamar Catchment Based Approach (CaBA) Partnership
Five stakeholder 'interest groups' were formed. The important ecosystem services within each group were identified through stakeholder discussion. These groups were: Water Quality; Water Quantity; Habitats for Wildlife; Carbon Regulation; Recreation and Leisure
Which ecosystem services were focused on?:
- Health and well-being
- Recreation/tourism
- Spiritual/religious
- Drinking water
- Water supply
- Carbon sequestration & storage
- Climate regulation
- Flood control
- Hazard regulation
Tamar Catchment Partnership; Environmental Services Evidence Review, available at: https://issuu.com/westcountryriverstrust/docs/tamar_evidence_review_1-0_web.
The Tamar Plan, Phase 1: Developing a Shared Catchment Vision
Information on the pilot project, available at: http://wrt.org.uk/ecosystem-services-visualisation/