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Working with natural processes is an important part of a holistic approach to flood risk...
Recommendation
Working with natural processes is an important part of a holistic approach to flood risk management. There are several initiatives that could serve as delivery vehicles for natural flood management, including the new Environmental Land Management scheme, and a catchment-based approach requires join-up between these policies to ensure that natural flood management interventions are appropriately targeted and incentivised. We recommend that the Government should scale up natural flood management, whilst ensuring that the measures are appropriate to local conditions and form part of a catchment-based approach. The new Environmental Land Management scheme provides an opportunity to do this. (Paragraph 131) Flooding 53
Government Response
Not Addressed
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
The Government is committed to natural flood management. As with all flood and coastal erosion risk management measures, this is subject to robust analysis and modelling to ensure that the right measures are in the right places. To support this, the Government Policy Statement made a commitment to doubling the number of Government funded projects which include nature-based solutions for flooding and coastal erosion; and made enabling more resilient places through a catchment-based approach a key focus. There are a wide range of delivery mechanisms for natural flood management. Government examples include its £5.2 billion investment programme, £200 million Flood and Coast Resilience Innovation Programme, and £640 million Nature for Climate Fund. In 2017 the Government announced a £15 million natural flood management programme to further develop the evidence base around working with natural process to reduce flood risk. This programme supported 25 large catchment scale projects and 33 smaller community projects and is now coming to an end. The evaluation is underway and will influence future policy and delivery. We are working with stakeholders to determine the specific land management actions that will be paid for under our new schemes that reward farmers and land managers for producing public goods. The Path to Sustainable Farming: An Agricultural Transition Plan 2021 to 202431 sets out examples of the types of actions that we envisage paying for under the schemes, including natural flood management. We have also recently published more details on the first phase of piloting the Sustainable Farming Incentive, including the actions we will pay farmers to take to manage their land in an environmentally sustainable
Timeline
Recommendation age
5.3 yrs
Report published
08 Feb 2021