Wed Sep 18 17:10:00 UTC 2024: ## Zulu Ecosystems and Severn Trent Water Join Forces to Unlock Private Investment in Nature

**LONDON, Sept. 18, 2024** – Zulu Ecosystems and Severn Trent Water have secured a £580,000 grant from Innovate UK to develop a revolutionary catchment system operator model for attracting private investment in nature. This project, focused on the Idle and Torne River catchment, aims to improve water resilience and foster a thriving ecosystem for the benefit of both nature and local communities.

The Idle and Torne catchment, facing challenges like drought risk, flood vulnerability, and water quality degradation, presents a critical need for intervention. The project, leveraging Zulu Ecosystems’ natural capital assessment expertise and Severn Trent Water’s water management prowess, will employ nature-based solutions like woodland creation, wetland restoration, and riparian woodland planting to address these issues.

“This Innovate UK funding marks a crucial step in our approach to local nature recovery and water resilience,” said Ed Asseily, CEO of Zulu Ecosystems. “By creating a catchment-scale model that bridges the gap between the supply and demand of ecosystem services, we can attract private investment in nature-based solutions and drive positive change.”

Severn Trent Water will act as the project’s System Operator, ensuring strategic coordination and alignment of stakeholder priorities to maximize benefits for both water services and the environment.

“We are thrilled to partner with Zulu Ecosystems on this transformative project,” said Richard Smith, Strategic Asset Planning Manager at Severn Trent Water. “By adopting a system operator approach, we can guarantee that investments in nature-based solutions deliver the greatest possible benefits for our customers, local communities, and the environment.”

This project, funded through the “Integrating Finance and Biodiversity for a Nature Positive Future” program, emphasizes the importance of integrating biodiversity values into financial decision-making.

Over the next 9 months, the project team will collaborate with local stakeholders to identify priority interventions and develop a portfolio of investable nature-based solutions. By demonstrating the viability of multi-stakeholder nature-based projects at a catchment-scale, this project aims to serve as a blueprint for sustainable landscape management across the UK and beyond.

Read More