Wessex Water have an online platform (EnTrade) with which farmers can bid for money in return for adopting more sustainable farming practices. This system directly reduces the cost of water purification for the Water Company, acts as an incentive for good practice to the landowner, and provides landscape and wildlife benefits for the local population – a win-win-win. Clearly it’s easier to pay farmers per hectare of land owner. But with the growing demands placed on our environment, and an increasing understanding of our reliance on it, such a system as described here could radically alter the terminal decline of Britain’s natural capital.

EnTrade ‘Each year over £13bn is spent in catchments in England and Wales, with typically over 50 bodies in a single catchment controlling this spend. Much of this is allocated inefficiently with little dialogue between investors or time spent identifying the most cost effective combination of these measures. Combined with this inefficiency is the consideration that catchment solutions are given over asset solutions; although environmental measures tend to cost significantly less than asset solutions they are rarely given full consideration or implemented. Not only does this result in unnecessary spending, but asset solutions provide none of the additional environmental benefits that come with catchment measures.

EnTrade is a tool that can make this allocation of funding more efficient, by providing an online platform to allow buyers and sellers to come together to identify the most cost effective combination of measures to affect a specified environmental outcome. EnTrade is an online auction platform for improving the environment. We aim to optimise the provision of funding to farmers, landowners and others for environmental measures, for instance by reducing the nutrient loading in catchments. EnTrade is an easy to use online trading platform that allows you to bid for this funding. Please create an account to take part in an auction, or click ‘More information’ to find out about EnTrade.’