Introduction
Norfolk is experiencing growing pressures on its water resources. Residents and businesses are already feeling the impacts of a shifting climate, through more frequent flooding incidents and water shortages. The ability of freshwater bodies to support biodiversity is under threat, primarily due to pollution and the destruction of native habitats.
We are working with a variety of organisations to accelerate NbS across the region through engaging, targeting, financing, delivering and monitoring.
NbS Discovery Fund
We facilitate the NbS Discovery Fund which aims to support the development of NbS projects across catchments in Norfolk, as well as Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
If you have an idea for a project which uses NbS to deliver water security benefits, but you need some funding to get it shovel-ready, please get in touch: nwsp@wre.org.uk
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What types of NbS help with water security?
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“Nature-based Solutions are actions that protect, manage and restore natural or modified ecosystems, which address societal challenges, effectively and adaptively, providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits.” – International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN, 2016)
For a detailed visual guide of NbS supported by the Norfolk Water Strategy Programme, see our visual glossary for Nature-based Solutions
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Runoff attenuation features
Runoff attenuation and infiltration features for water resources are small landscape features that catch water in high rainfall events and promote infiltration. They should be located where water naturally collects or flows, and where soil type and geology will promote water to soak into the ground, helping drought resilience.
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Riparian restoration
Riparian restoration means restoring and improving land next to rivers, streams, ditches or flow pathways, acting as a natural buffer to erosion and pollutants. In practice, this could include planting vegetation, fencing livestock out of watercourses, restoring riverbank habitat, or removing hard engineering so the river edge works more naturally
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Soil management practices
Soil management practices are farming methods that improve soil health so that rainwater soaks into the soil like a sponge, aiding water infiltration and reducing runoff. These land management practices are sometimes called regenerative agriculture, conservation agriculture or water sensitive farming.
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Arable conversion to grassland
Land use change is converting intensively managed agricultural land into more natural, permanent vegetation. Land use change is sometimes called rewilding, habitat creation, habitat restoration.
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Floodplain reconnection
Floodplain reconnection means restoring the natural connection between a river and its floodplain, so that water flows can slow and spread out over a wider area. This often involves removing or lowering embankments or reshaping straightened and deepened channels.
Engaging NbS
Scaling up nature-based solutions in Norfolk requires strong collaboration and coordination.
The programme’s core partners provide strategic direction and governance, supported by an advisory group representing local, regional and national stakeholders. Engagement is central to our approach, from attending local events and workshops to contributing to national and international conversations.
Ultimately, we aim to play a role in ensuring efforts across organisations are aligned, strengthening the overall approach and maximising the success of NbS initiatives across the region.
Targeting NbS
We have the means to identify where NbS could provide the greatest benefits through our opportunity mapping and modelling.
On behalf of WRE and NWSP, JBA Consulting have developed regional NbS opportunity maps to assess the potential for NbS to provide uplift to low flows and increase baseflow.
In addition, NWSP has funded the East of England NbS Planning Hub, as an online resource for partners to explore regional NbS opportunity maps further and record potential NbS projects.
Financing NbS
We aim to build a portfolio of NbS projects at a catchment-scale that are suitable for private and public financing.
This thinking comes from The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and its global network of Water Funds. We developed a business case for a £30 million Norfolk Water Fund to tackle water challenges threatening the county’s wildlife and economy.
Through our delivery partners, we support farmers and landowners to undertake options appraisals for nature-based solutions on their land, complemented by a repayable grant scheme for those looking to engage with emerging nature markets.
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Delivering NbS
We are building our understanding of NbS through practical implementation with delivery partners.
Through the NbS Discovery Fund, we are aiming to develop promising projects across Norfolk and much of the East region. We also support Anglian Water in their administration of the Catchment Regeneration Fund, which provides funding for the delivery of NbS for water security projects.
We take our learning from each project and use this to produce relevant guidance and tools to support further delivery. For example, see our guidance on funding NbS via ELMs.
Monitoring NbS
Through NWSP, we aim to develop a robust approach to monitoring NbS projects, to build the evidence base needed to report outcomes to funders and inform future industry strategy.
We have a dedicated Senior Research Associate who supports delivery partners in designing monitoring plans and leads our own NbS trials.
For guidance on how to develop your own NbS monitoring scheme that suits your budget, see our Best Practice Guidance on Monitoring of Nature-Based Solutions.
Our NbS project portfolio
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Landowner engagement across Norfolk
Norfolk FWAG, National Trust and River Waveney Trust are working in the Yare, Wensum, Bure and Waveney sub-catchments, respectively, to help landowners identify opportunities for NbS on their land and access public and private funding for delivery, with support available from Swallowtail Consulting.
If you are a landowner interested in NbS for water security on your land, please get in touch, and we will connect you with the appropriate representative.
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River Yare floodplain reconnection
This project created a new 651m meandering river channel, 6 scrapes and 2 ponds, which will enhance water storage during high flows, providing natural flood management, increased groundwater infiltration and improved water quality.
The diverse flow types created through these improvements will boost habitat quality and complexity, benefiting species such as water voles, insects, breeding wader birds, reptiles and marginal plants.
The work was managed by Norfolk Rivers Trust with Water Management Alliance as sub-contractors, with blended funding from a range of partners (Environment Agency, WWF via Finish partnership, Anglian Water, NWSP).
Press release here
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NbS trials in the Wensum
In partnership with the Environment Agency, we are working in the Wensum catchment to ground-truth the potential for runoff attenuation features (RAFs) to slow down and store water from farmland to help replenish aquifers and support more resilient baseflows.
Modelling suggests such features could be highly beneficial and cost-effective, but there is a lack of real-world testing to validate these results. If our trials validate the models, it could pave the way for much greater investment in nature-based approaches to baseflow improvement.
We worked with a consortium led by Norfolk Rivers Trust to deliver the surface RAF in June 2025. It will now be monitored by WRE and the University of Anglia (UEA) for the next two years. We are also working on a sister project in the Cam catchment.
See our case study on the Wensum monitoring trails for more info.
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Sennowe Estate
Following feasibility studies we funded in 2023-24, NbS implementation is ongoing at two sites on the Sennowe Estate in the Wensum catchment. The features will include re-meandering of channels and leaky dams which will restore habitat, encourage groundwater recharge and improve water quality.
The projects will be partly funded by the DS Smith Trust through NWSP. The work is being delivered by Norfolk Rivers Trust (NRT), in collaboration with the EA’s Wonderful Wensum project.
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Whitlingham Country Park
Following the Nature for Norwich NbS Accelerator project at Crown Point Estate, we accessed follow-on funding for implementation of various NbS at Whitlingham Country Park in the Yare catchment.
The features improve resilience to floods and droughts and create new wetland habitats.
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NbS monitoring guidance
We worked with UEA to develop guidance for landowners and delivery organisations to design, cost and implement monitoring regimes for NbS projects.
The guidance informs standard monitoring procedures for the Norfolk Water Fund, especially those that align with requirements for recording key performance indicators (KPIs), alongside natural capital revenues including replenish, biodiversity net gain, and nutrient neutrality.
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Nature for Norwich NbS Accelerator at Crown Point Estate
One of WWF’s six global NbS Accelerator projects, we collaborated with Swallowtail Consulting (the team behind the Wendling Beck Environment Project) and the Crown Point Estate, focusing on their 2,000ha site next to the River Yare, south of Norwich.
The project explored the potential for NbS to deliver water quality and biodiversity benefits across the estate and presented a range of fully costed land use transition scenarios with positive outcomes for people and nature.
Case study here
