There is a growing understanding of the value of moorlands for water – two important interventions, and developing science

1. Revitalising natural landscapes can reduce flood risk – Environment Agency 

The Environment Agency has flagged up that revitalising natural landscapes can reduce flood risk.

Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Agency visited the uplands in the Peak District National Park on Friday to see firsthand how the Environment Agency’s investment is supporting the Moors for the Future Partnership in reversing the effects of hundreds of years of industrial pollution and helping to reduce flood risk. The partnership is leading a series of visits for Environment Agency staff to moorlands in Derbyshire, near to Sheffield, where conservation work has transformed the peat landscape that had been damaged by more than 150 years of pollution from coal-fired factories on either side of the Pennines, and devastating wildfires. The work also ‘slows the flow’ of water running down from moorland into the River Derwent, which in turn reduces the flood risk and improves water quality for communities in Derbyshire and the Trent Valley.

2. Peatlands, Natural Capital and the water industry is the first in a new series of briefings from the Scottish Forum on Natural Capital. It looks at the relationship between peatland quality and water utility costs. It also explores the economic and wider environmental benefits of restoring peatlands to healthy, functioning ecosystems.

3. Studies Throw New Light On Causes Of Devastating December Floods 

Two university studies have thrown a disturbing light on the causes and consequences of the devastating December floods in Cumbria. Researchers at the University of Salford said the inundation was made much worse due the breakdown of the natural relationship between rivers and their floodplains; while academics at Lancaster University have warned that as a consequence of floods, losses of soil and nutrients on agricultural land in Cumbria could increase by an average of nine per cent by 2050 …