The Riverine Natural Capital Condition and Ecosystem Service Mapping project developed spatial riverine natural capital condition and ecosystem service evidence accessed via an open data mapping tool, the Ecosystem Service Map Explorer (ESME). It modelled the condition of rivers in England (and their surrounding catchments) and their capacity to provide ecosystem services.
The dataset includes riverine natural capital condition indicator and ecosystem service capacity data aggregated at Water Framework Directive (WFD) Management catchment scale, as well as underlying base scale attributes. It provides an England-wide geospatial evidence base for riverine natural capital condition and ecosystem service capacity to support environmental planning and delivery.
Ten ecosystem services are included: Provisioning services (Water Supply), Regulating services (Water Quality Regulation; Water Flow Regulation; Habitat & Population Maintenance), and Cultural services (Aesthetic & Amenity Experience; Recreation; Physical / Mental Health & Wellbeing, Education & Investigation; Spiritual, Cultural & Religious Experiences; and Intrinsic Value of Nature).
ESME uses a mix of indicator types, datasets of varying ages collected at different scales for diverse purposes, and a range of scoring approaches. Results should be seen as indicative of the relative ecosystem service capacity expected given the underlying state of the water environment. ESME provides a snapshot in time using the most suitable national evidence available in 2025. It should be considered a starting point for understanding ecosystem service capacity in a place and interpretation should be supplemented with local data and knowledge. It is important to understand limitations and confidence in results and scale, for further information please refer to the ESME Applications and Limitations Guidance. Attribution statement: Produced by the Environment Agency. © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2026. All rights reserved.
Also contains data and/or information provided by 3rd parties under license, with permission, or under OGL3.0/ODbL1.0 as detailed in full in the ESME Attribution Statement document.
