Natural Water Retention Measures
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Natural Water Retention Measures Issue 32 May 2012 Editorial Contents Page Promoting Natural Water Retention - Wetland management needs a human-centric approach 4 Wetland management should consider human health as well An Ecosystem Approach as biodiversity. By a combination of human activities, the European environment Four-step strategy for wetland restoration 5 has been progressively dehydrated through overexploitation of Scientists call for new approach to multipurpose wetland its water resources. Climate change is likely to place even greater creation or restoration. pressures on these resources, which provide essential ecosystem services to communities throughout Europe, and also lead to an Blocking drainage ditches aids peatland restoration 6 increased risk of extreme events, such as droughts and flooding. Ditch blocking could help restore valuable peatlands but care is needed, study says. This special issue explores potential management measures aimed at enhancing the water storage potential of Europe’s What factors affect run-off from agricultural land? 7 ecosystems and aquifers and safeguarding them against the A study explores ways to reduce environmental impact of effects of climate change and other such human-induced agricultural runoff. pressures. Forests: A positive force for global water availability 8 Of particular concern to policymakers is the protection against Forests should be considered as global public goods, a new flooding that natural ecosystems afford. However, the ability study concludes. of natural features to retain water also delivers other vital ecosystem services including water provision and purification, Soil properties are key factor in flood prevention 9 improvement of soil quality, provision of habitat, cultural services, Scientists investigate the critical role of forest soil conditions air quality, climate regulation and, especially in peat bogs, on rainwater runoff. storage of carbon and climate change mitigation. Recognition of the wide range of societal benefits from natural ecosystems is Decentralised Flood Protection: A key player in natural flood management 10 part of an ongoing paradigm shift in the way we attach value to the natural world, i.e. a shift towards thinking about what it does, A network of small technical interventions could prevent flooding, study says. rather than simply what it is. Land management measures to promote natural water storage Overcoming the challenges of SUDS design 11 draw on nature to regulate the flow and transport of water, so as A workshop explores the difficulties in installing SUDS, and to smooth peaks and moderate extreme events. Such measures some potential solutions. include the restoration of floodplains and wetlands, river restoration, sustainable drainage systems, forest measures, soil Related articles 12 management and sustainable agricultural practices. A selection of recent articles from the Science for Environment Policy News Alert (Continued on page 2) Natural Water Retention Measures Issue 32 May 2012 The articles covered by this special issue illustrate the importance of establishing the evidence base to underpin policy innovation and associated management actions. For example, it is vital to understand potential trade-offs of imposed measures (i.e. benefits from increased natural water retention versus losses in other services), to which the UK National Ecosystem Assessment1 has so far made a major contribution. In essence, policymakers need to think about water not in isolation but as part of the land-water-living resources system underlying a sustainable economy and the socio-cultural fabric of the EU. The ’ecosystem approach‘ provides a useful methodological framework for achieving holistic and integrated approaches to promoting natural water retention. Reducing the vulnerability of water resources and related ecosystems to climate change and other anthropogenic pressure is the focus of the forthcoming EU ’Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Waters2‘, which will address cost-efficient multifunctional natural water retention measures and their integration into River Basin Management Plans and sectoral policies. Most natural water retention measures can also be regarded as components of the EU’s Green Infrastructure strategy3, a holistic policy initiative integrating nature and biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, employment opportunities and recreation. The multi-functionality of natural water retention measures contributes to their cost-efficiency, making them good candidates for sustainable climate adaptation measures under the EU climate change adaptation strategy and Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)4. The article ’Wetland management needs a ‘human-centric’ approach‘ describes the pathfinder role that wetland research has played in the paradigm shift, by strengthening the linkages with society. The authors discuss how a new, unifying Wetland Policy would go a long way to achieving greater coherence among different water and land management policies. Better integration of objectives for wetland creation/restoration at different landscape scales and the management of potential conflicts between objectives is discussed in ’Four step strategy for wetland restoration and creation in agricultural landscapes’. Peat bogs are a special type of wetland, which provide multiple ecosystem services, including storing significant amounts of carbon. ’Blocking drainage ditches aids peatbog restoration‘ describes how blocking ditches cut previously under agricultural practices which favoured improvement of upland grazing, effectively restores ecosystem integrity to degraded peat bogs, but highlights the need to monitor the hydrological impacts over long periods of time and at the landscape scale, rather than the local scale. The importance of spatial scale is further highlighted in an agricultural context in ’What factors affect runoff from agricultural land?’ As the article discusses, reducing agricultural runoff can potentially reduce erosion, productivity loss, downstream pollution and poor water quality. However, the greatest research gap lies in the limited understanding of the significance of the spatial and temporal aspects of patchiness and connectivity in the agricultural landscape. (Continued on page 3) 2 European Commission DG ENV Natural Water Retention Measures Issue 32 May 2012 Spatial scale is also relevant to the influence of forests on the hydrological cycle. The article ‘Forests: A positive force for water availability’ tackles the apparently contradictory views on the relationship between forest cover/ afforestation and water yield. On balance, the researchers conclude that as water providers rather than consumers, forests should be thought of as global public goods and be factored into drought mitigation strategies and the ecological footprint of forestry products and services. Forest type is important in runoff and flood generation but soil conditions, often the result of prior land uses, are also significant. As discussed in ‘Soil properties are key factor in flood prevention‘, soil characteristics should be taken into account in a multidisciplinary policy approach to flood prevention, involving a wide range of stakeholders from the forestry, agriculture, water management and spatial planning sectors. Alongside efforts to restore valuable ecological environments to protect ecosystem services related to water retention, certain technical measures can contribute to effective, natural flood protection. The article ’Decentralised Flood Protection: A key player in natural flood management‘ demonstrates that supporting the entire drainage basin with a network of small flood prevention measures (i.e. retarding basins, river renaturation and afforestation of floodplains) can be used alongside larger technical interventions, such as dams and dykes. In urban areas, grey infrastructure (i.e. buildings and concrete) reduces percolation of rainwater into groundwater reservoirs, increasing the risk of surface flooding and contamination of water through storm sewer overflow. The final article, ’Overcoming the challenges of SUDS design‘ highlights how the urban environment should be an important focus of attention through new planning and design of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS). Although the potential benefits of green roofs, bioswales and open gutters for stormwater management are high, significant technical, collaborative and practical challenges exist, calling for better engagement of landscape architects. Professor Edward Maltby Professor Emeritus of Wetland Science, Water & Ecosystem Management University of Liverpool Laborde Endowed Chair in Research Innovation, LSU, Baton Rouge 1. UK National Ecosystem Assessment. See: http://uknea.unep-wcmc.org/ 2. EU “Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Waters”. See: (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/blueprint/index_en.htm). 3. EU Green Infrastructure strategy. See: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/ecosystems/index_en.htm 4. Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). See: http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/cap-post-2013/index_en.htm European Commission DG ENV 3 Natural Water Retention Measures Issue 32 May 2012 Wetland management needs a human- centric approach Wetland management needs to consider the role wetlands play in supporting livelihoods and wellbeing as well as more traditional conservation goals, according to UK researchers. Such a ‘human-centric’ approach, would link Contact: [email protected] hydrological conservation to societal benefits, including clean