Oxford Long-Term Ecology Lab

Long-Term Ecology, Biodiversity Conservation, and Environmental Stewardship Technologies

The mapping user interface for NaturEtrade


Description

This demonstration project has been successfully completed. The overall aim of NaturEtrade was to develop an innovative solution to the loss of ecologically-rich land in Europe.

This innovative project worked with landowners and businesses in different European countries (Portugal, Romania, Estonia, UK) to explore how they would utilise the tools and technologies we developed to trade in the commodity ‘ecosystem services’. The project developed a set of tools and technologies that bridges the gap between academic research and policy on ecosystem service provision, and its dissemination to private and public landowners.

In spite of their importance in sustaining human well-being, ecosystem services have not commonly been an object of private-market transactions. As a result, where ecosystem services are recompensed, it is almost exclusively via government incentives or charitable donation.

NaturEtrade was conceived as a tool to complement biodiversity offsetting schemes and help facilitate private markets for ecosystem services to develop, while simultaneously supporting improved ecosystem service provision by government and charities.

NaturEtrade is a free, easy-to-use, web-based, demonstration ecosystem service evaluation tool and trading platform that shows landowners how to measure the ecosystem services provided by their lands, and how they could contract with businesses for the continued and enhanced provision of these services. The measured ecosystem services are soil erosion, water regulation provision, pollination services, carbon sequestration, and cultural and recreational values.

The project website and demonstration trading platform is at NaturEtrade

Project Details

People


Funders

EC LIFE Programme; Oxford Martin School


Country

European Union


Additional Researchers

Professor Gordon L. Clark, Dr Gerard Dericks, Dr Alex Teytelboym, Dr Scott D. Kominers