Natural infrastructure
Water management that integrates natural features reduces costs and increases benefits, but integrated approaches are not yet standard practice. Rather than restoring degraded headwaters and the services they provide, spending continues to focus on traditional infrastructure to solve water problems with little consideration of alternatives.
Are we overlooking key pressures in our efforts to improve the ecosystem health of Europe's waters? asks Valerie Houlden
Scientists are trialling the use of drones and in situ technologies to monitor water quality.
The project, called the Multiscale Observation Networks for Optical Monitoring of Coastal waters, Lakes and Estuaries (MONOCLE), is funded by the EU Horizon 2020 programme and will work in tandem with the satellite earth observation techniques which are also being used to provide water quality data.
The Natural Capital Coalition (NCC) is looking for methodologies for producing a tool to help decision-making for businesses.
NCC is running a project with the Cambridge Conservation Initiaitive, a collaboration between the University of Cambridge and leading biodiversity-focused conservation organisations, to strengthen the way in which the Natural Capital Protocol addresses biodiversity.
New infographic from Natural Course - view
The water industry in England has set out an ambitious new vision for the 2020s with the publication today (Monday 3 September 2018) of a Manifesto for Water.
It reveals plans for a major investment programme in services, a significant cut in leakage, an overall real-term reduction in bills, and a big increase in help for people who struggle to pay. It also includes a new programme for helping the environment which will see 8000 km of rivers cleaned and improved.
The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is seeking information on local partnerships and the delivery of economic, health an environmental benefits. Defra has commissioned independent research consultancy, Collingwood Environmental Planning (with its partners the Ecosystems Knowledge Network and New Economics Foundation) to undertake a survey on this topic.
This years’ Asia Riverprize finalists are the Pasig River (Philippines) and the Yangtze River (China).
This years’ Bert and Vera Thiess Australasia Riverprize finalists are Whangawehi Stream (New Zealand), Laidley Creek (Australia) and the Parramatta River (Australia). Also highly commended are the Oven and Kings River (Australia) and Yarra River (Australia).
Natural England has opened a new science research and outreach centre in the Humberhead Peatlands National Nature Reserve in Yorkshire.
The centre features an educational unit for visitors, schools and universities, alongside a laboratory facility that will carry out research on how the peatland influences the environment beyond its physical boundaries.