What Have Rivers Ever Done For Us? Ecosystem Services and River Systems - River Conservation and Management - page 302

Annex 2 Key findings from the case studies.

Case study Key findings

Tamar 2000 The Tamar 2000 programme stabilized and enhanced farm profitability and regional

eco-tourism. Benefits from improved river functioning accrued across all four ecosystem
service categories. Estimated gross annual benefits for provisioning services ( £ 578 099),
regulatory services ( £ 2,474 955), cultural services ( £ 320 477) and supporting services ( £ 501 775)
contributed to substantial lifetime benefits representing a benefit-to-cost ratio of 109:1
relative to scheme costs. This included many planned benefits, but also 'collateral' ecosystem
services benefits that were not specifically targeted. Were it possible to quantify three services
believed to be significant - fish recruitment and the regulation of air quality and all aspects of
climate - it is considered that calculated benefits would have been significantly higher.

Managed
realignment at
Alkborough Flats

The managed realignment achieved its design objectives (intertidal habitat mitigation, flood
storage and protection of navigation) but also enhanced a wide range of additional
ecosystem services across all categories. Estimated gross annual benefits for provisioning
services ( £ 1745), regulatory services ( £ 14 553 excluding flood regulation enhancement which
was quantified on a different basis), cultural services ( £ 159 830) and supporting services
( £ 757 618) contributed to a lifetime benefit (including flood risk uplifts) of 3.22:1. This
exceeded the benefit-to-cost value achieved by traditional benefit-cost methods, because it
recognized wider public benefit. A key finding was the overturning of an unstated
assumption that 'provisioning services' (loss of food production) were being traded against
'regulatory services' (flood risk) and 'supporting services' (habitat for wildlife) gains. In fact,
the annual loss of arable food and fibre production was more than offset by higher values
derived from food, fibre and genetic stock sales from 'rare breeds' grazing on the site
post-intervention. Were it possible to quantify the perceived substantial benefits from
recruitment of fish of commercial and recreational importance, this value might have been
substantially enhanced. Ecosystem-based management of habitat to address identified
problems can therefore result in a wide range of additional benefits.

Sea trout
restoration on the
River Glaven

Sea trout restoration on the River Glaven served as a focus for a wide range of stakeholders in
the river, for whom the return of this native fish had 'iconic' significance regardless of their
interests in angling. Benefits from improved river functioning again accrued across all four
ecosystem service categories. Estimated gross annual benefits for provisioning services
( £ 20 000), regulatory services ( £ 66 550), cultural services ( £ 167 159) and supporting services
( £ 21 480) contributed to lifetime enhancement representing a substantial benefit-to-cost
ratio of 325:1. Flood risk management benefits alone accounted for a benefit-to-cost ratio of
13:1, which would have been sufficient to justify investment in the scheme. The building of
relationships between different, formerly fragmented interest groups across the catchment
was a particularly significant outcome, with sea trout serving as a potent symbol of a river
restored to health along with its many associated benefits to society. The study also addressed
likely benefits of further work to bypass a major obstruction on the river, concluding that this
was economically viable based on a wide range of benefits with flood risk outcomes again
potentially providing sufficient justification for investment.

Buffer zone
installation on the
upper Bristol
Avon

This buffer zone installation was only 330 m in length but targeted a field edge long recognized
as severely degraded by cattle poaching and also representing a substantial source of
sediment, nutrient, faecal organisms and associated pollutants. Benefits from improved river
functioning were recognized across all four ecosystem service categories. Estimated gross
annual benefits for provisioning services ( £ 508), regulatory services ( £ 1840), cultural services
( £ 4633) and supporting services ( £ 1618) contributed to lifetime enhancement representing a
substantial benefit-to-cost ratio of 31:1. Though driven by angling interests and funded from
a fishery management budget, this buffer zone yielded only 9.6% of its total benefits to
recreational anglers with the remainder favouring broader sectors of society.

( Continued )