Ecosystem markets for a green recovery

Land use will play a key role in building back better

As part of the launch of our Food Systems Policy Hub, Professor Mark Reed from Newcastle University and Professor Peter Howley from the University of Leeds held a webinar on Wednesday 11 November exploring the role of ecosystem markets in a green recovery.

The webinar stimulated discussion and interrogation of new evidence on the barriers to and opportunities for ecosystem markets to contribute to a green recovery. Two new policy briefs were produced for the webinar and informed the discussion:

This online event was chaired by Colin Mackie, Head of Strategy in the Green Finance Team at Defra, and speakers included:

  • Professor Mark Reed, Professor of Socio-Technical Innovation, School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University
  • Professor Peter Howley, Professor of Economics and Behavioural Science, Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds
  • Professor Guy Ziv, Professor in Socio-Environmental Systems, School of Geography, University of Leeds
  • Dr Helen Kendall, Research Associate, School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University

The speakers considered these demand side questions:

  • What factors hinder farmer engagement in ecosystem markets?
  • How best can we encourage farmer engagement in any new policy initiatives aimed at the delivery of ecosystem services?
  • How can we design regional and national ecosystem markets that could stimulate enough investment to meet the anticipated post-2024 drop in agri-environment funding?
  • How can we design public schemes to leverage private investment without crowding out or compromising the additionality of private schemes?
  • What are the barriers to and opportunities for developing a UK Farm Soil Carbon Code to stimulate further investment in regenerative agriculture?

From the supply side perspective, the speakers explored these questions:

  • How can we enable a more outcome-based approach to the delivery of public goods from public money (rather than just tweaking the current input-based system)?
  • What can we learn from early experiences of landowners who have engaged with private schemes, and how could we incentivise more engagement to supply enough projects to satisfy growing demand for ecosystem services?
  • How can we cost-effectively monitor, verify and report ecosystem services in new privately funded ecosystem markets?

Didn’t catch the webinar? Watch the recording…

Here are the two new policy briefs discussed in the webinar:

Find out more…

Policy impact

Peatland with rolling hills in the background

The Peatland Code

N8 AgriFood’s Peatland Tipping Points project contributed to this code developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) UK Peatland Programme.

Find out more
Peatland with cloudy sky

UK Peatland Strategy

N8 AgriFood Chair, Professor Mark Reed, was a key contributor to this strategy which launched in April 2018 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) UK Peatland Programme.

Read the strategy
Wild mushroom growing in forest

POSTnote research briefing – Sustaining the soil microbiome

N8 AgriFood academics from the Universities of Durham, Lancaster, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield contributed to this research briefing from the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST).

Read the briefing
Wheat field and stormy rain clouds

POSTnote research briefing – Climate change and agriculture

This research briefing from the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) was informed by contributions from N8 AgriFood academics at the Universities of Leeds and Manchester.

Learn more

Research and policy briefs

Peatland in sunshine

Ecosystem markets for a green recovery: Policy challenges and opportunities

Ecosystem markets have the potential to fund significant reductions in greenhouse gases from the land use sector, while provide new income streams. This policy brief outlines the actions which are needed to stimulate demand for and supply of projects for new ecosystem markets.

Read the policy brief
Group of cows in a field with a dark sky

Payments for public goods: Rethinking what it is to be a good farmer

This policy brief explores how farmer decisions about engagement in sustainable farm practices and policy initiatives are shaped by a range of external and internal factors, such as farm type, values, beliefs and norms, rather than just the financial calculation of costs versus benefits.

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Wheat in field close up

Improving the evidence base for delivery of public goods from public money in agri-environment schemes

This is paper is part of the N8 AgriFood Collection for Emerald Open Research, by academics from the Universities of Newcastle and Leeds with the United Nations Environment Programme’s Global Peatlands Initiative.

Read the article
Crops in soil

Social capital factors affecting uptake of sustainable soil management practices: a literature review

Dr Niki Rust, Sara Iversen, Prof Mark Reed and Rosmarie Neumann from Newcastle University contributed to this N8 AgriFood Collection article for Emerald Open Research.

Find out more
Field of wheat

What is the evidence that public money leads to public goods delivery from agri-environment schemes?

This Policy brief explores climate change mitigation, improved water quality and soil health and was produced by N8 AgriFood academics on the Dairy Resilient Landscapes project.

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Farm land with dry stone wall

What is the role for public private partnerships to deliver public goods?

This Policy brief considers the role of public-private partnerships in post-Brexit agricultural policy and was produced by N8 AgriFood academics on the Dairy Resilient Landscapes project.

Read the policy brief

Blogs

Why the issue of land must be central to UK food systems transformation

1 April 2022|

Issues of food and land are inseparable. And yet the relationships between land, space, planning, and food systems are too-often marginal within food systems debates. In this piece we consider the role of land in leveraging change towards fairer and more sustainable food systems and reflect on the role of land in the forthcoming National Food Strategy.

Read More