Zulu Ecosystems and Severn Trent Water have been awarded funding by Innovate UK, the government’s innovation agency, for a £580,000 project aimed at developing a cutting-edge catchment system operator model.
This initiative seeks to unlock private investment in nature, enhance water resilience, and provide multiple benefits for both ecosystems and local communities within the Idle and Torne River catchment in Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire
The Idle and Torne catchment, identified as a priority area by the Environment Agency, faces significant environmental challenges, including drought risk, flooding, and deteriorating water quality. At present, around 60% of water bodies in the region fail to meet good ecological standards. However, there are vast opportunities for nature recovery, with the potential to restore over 5,000 hectares of priority habitats and significantly improve water resource management.
This pioneering partnership will combine Zulu Ecosystems’ expertise in natural capital assessment with Severn Trent Water’s extensive knowledge of water management. Together, they will create a scalable approach for funding and delivering nature-based solutions. The project will focus on interventions such as woodland creation, wetland restoration, and riparian woodland planting, addressing the catchment’s most pressing environmental issues.
Crucially, the initiative will engage local stakeholders, including farmers, landowners, and community groups, ensuring that interventions are informed by local knowledge and priorities.
Ed Asseily, CEO of Zulu Ecosystems, said: “This funding from Innovate UK is a game-changer for how we approach local nature recovery and water resilience. By developing a catchment-scale model that aggregates both the supply of and demand for ecosystem services, we can accelerate the flow of private capital into nature-based solutions.”
Severn Trent Water will serve as the project’s System Operator, playing a key role in coordinating efforts and aligning stakeholder priorities to maximise environmental and water service outcomes.
Richard Smith, Strategic Asset Planning Manager at Severn Trent Water, added: “We’re excited to partner with Zulu Ecosystems on this transformative project. By adopting a system operator approach, we can ensure that investments in nature-based solutions deliver the greatest possible benefits for our customers, local communities, and the environment.”
The project is part of Innovate UK’s ‘Integrating Finance and Biodiversity for a Nature Positive Future’ programme, a £7 million joint initiative with the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). This initiative aims to embed biodiversity values into financial decision-making and promote nature-positive outcomes.
Over the next nine months, the project team will work closely with local stakeholders to identify key interventions and develop a portfolio of investable nature-based solutions. The goal is to demonstrate how large-scale, multi-stakeholder projects can be developed, funded, and delivered to address climate adaptation and reverse biodiversity loss.
The findings from this project will be shared widely, offering a replicable model for sustainable landscape management across the UK. Innovate UK’s backing underscores the national importance of innovative approaches to environmental management, which can simultaneously deliver water security, enhance biodiversity, improve climate resilience, and create new income streams for landowners.
