Natural Course River Irwell project highly commended at prominent awards ceremony

A Natural Course project has been recognised at this year’s annual awards of The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM).

The awards celebrate excellence in the fields of ecology and environmental management, honouring projects that demonstrate exemplary and inspirational best practice in their industry.

The River Irwell Natural Capital Account and Ecosystem Services Assessment project, commissioned by Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) as part of Natural Course, was Highly Commended in the Best Practice: Innovation category. As part of this project, the ecosystem services from the 26 waterbodies that comprise the River Irwell Catchment were valued at a staggering £418 million per year. Opportunities to increase ecosystem services across the catchment were also identified to promote investment through a natural capital approach.

Krista Patrick, Natural Capital Coordinator, Greater Manchester Environment Team said

“It’s fantastic to receive this award, and for Greater Manchester to be recognised as leaders in protecting and restoring the water environment through an innovative assessment of ecosystem services alongside a natural capital valuation”.

The approach developed through this project, which integrates ecosystem services opportunity mapping and natural capital accounting, has now being extended to cover all of Greater Manchester. Meanwhile, four pilot projects are using the outputs from the study to examine how a natural capital approach can be utilised in project development, stakeholder engagement and funding applications.

The executive summary can be found here

For the full report click here

The full list of winners and finalists of the 2019 CIEEM Awards can be found on their website