Given the complexity and magnitude of the threats posed by water security challenges to Norfolk’s people, economy and natural assets, the Norfolk County Council has joined forces with Anglian Water, Water Resources East and The Nature Conservancy to create the Norfolk Water Strategy Programme (NWSP) and identify how to invest in nature-based solutions at scale to complement traditional grey infrastructure and secure the county’s long-term water resilience.
Since February 2021, the NWSP has performed detailed technical analyses and engaged with local stakeholders to characterise Norfolk´s water assets, understand the county’s water security challenges and identify how investing in nature can help address them. We have mapped existing local nature-based solutions initiatives, analysed the regulatory framework and financing landscape to characterise challenges and opportunities to support such investment programmes.
What are nature-based solutions for water security (nbs-ws)?
Nature-based solutions are defined by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as ‘actions to protect, sustainably manage and restore natural or modified ecosystems that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits’ (IUCN, 2019).
With respect to water security, they seek to enable ‘the provision of an acceptable quantity and quality of water for health, livelihood, ecosystems and production, coupled with an acceptable level of water-related risks to people, environments and economies” (Sadoff & Grey, 2017).
This progress report
The NWSP is now presenting the results of these analyses for stakeholders feedback on a set of recommendations regarding governance and funding arrangements to foster collaboration and targeted investment in nature recovery to address Norfolk’s water security challenges. The Progress Report sets out proposed priority challenges to address and geographical areas for engagement.
The main preliminary recommendation is to establish two inter-linked governance mechanisms:
- A Collective Action Platform, the Norfolk Water Hub, to disseminate information, connect actors, influence the delivery and adoption of NbS-WS, and mobilise funding in general.
- A Norfolk Water Fund dedicated to the delivery, in close collaboration with on-the-ground organisations, of coordinated investment programmes with clear performance indicators. In its first phase, this fund would work in the Bure and Wensum catchments, with a primary focus either on (i) water resource / intra-year variability with expected co-benefits in terms of water quality, or (ii) on nutrient balancing and water quality, with potential benefits on water flows and quantity.
Key files
The Norfolk Water Hub
In addition, the Norfolk Water Hub has been created to provide an interactive tool for stakeholders to map out water security challenges, disseminate knowledge and share experiences on nature-based solutions for water security so as to foster collaboration and their uptake at scale.