This project aims to accelerate the development of high-integrity natural capital markets for water outcomes in the Forth catchment. These markets represent innovative and increasingly critical mechanisms to recognise, value, and ultimately protect Scotland’s natural capital assets – particularly rivers and waterways – and the vital, multifunctional ecosystem services they provide.
The project partners aim to deliver on this vision by consolidating and generating robust demand-side evidence to deepen the understanding of drivers for buyers of water outcomes (related to water quality, water scarcity, and flood risk). In parallel, the project will adopt a collaborative approach that emphasises building and strengthening relationships across sectors. This will enable the identification of solutions, buyer-aligned metrics, and viable investment pathways, supporting the development of effective and credible water-related nature markets in the Forth and beyond. Lessons learnt are expected to be transferable across Scotland leveraging the national reach of Fisheries Management Scotland’s member network.
The proposal is grounded in the acknowledgement that rivers and waterways are shared and essential resources for community wellbeing, economic activity, and native species that find a habitat in them. However, they are under increasing pressure from climate change and other human-induced impacts. While progress has been made in developing water-related metrics and standards, further market development is constrained by a limited understanding of potential buyers and investors, what drives their willingness to pay for water outcomes, and how viable investment pathways can be created.
This demand-side knowledge gap lies at the heart of Innovation Challenge 5, which the project addresses through two core, linked activities:
- Demand-side evidence generation through a study comprising: (i) a desk review and stocktake of existing evidence, initiatives, and metrics related to water markets, to establish a baseline; and (ii) the design and implementation of a targeted survey of prospective buyers with an interest in the Forth catchment, including private businesses across sectors, Scottish Water, and local authorities. Stakeholders will be identified through a systematic mapping and prioritisation process. Analysis of the survey data will generate actionable insights and recommendations to support the development of markets for water outcomes.
- Stakeholder engagement and collaboration, embedded throughout the project, paving the way for future cross-sector, public-private partnerships essential to well-functioning nature markets. Engagement will be central to the survey process and will be supported through the establishment of an Advisory Committee (including project partners and relevant stakeholders such as SEPA, Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Water, and the Scottish Government) and the delivery of a final workshop to disseminate findings and foster collaboration.
Find out more here: https://fms.scot/fms_project/forth2o-demand-water-outcomes/
