Log in
Improved flood risk modelling based on the application of research led by Keith Beven at Lancaster has had global impacts in improved flood defence policies and planning by governments, and in assisting insurers with their underwriting (for example in pricing and policy decisions). The benefits are not just financial — they are human too: improved understanding of flood risk and resilience protects life and assets, and has a positive impact on the well-being of many of those at risk. These impacts are at the centre of flood risk management across the UK, are being applied in nine other European countries, and now becoming the methods of choice for flood mapping in developing countries such as Thailand.
Our research and resulting impacts extend across a wide range of flooding problems, from localised urban floods to river bas in flooding. The under pinning research ranges from extending the evidence base, to improved rainfall estimates, and to advances in hydrological and hydraulic models. The impact of our research has been through the creation and application of new methodologies (e.g. AOFD) and software tools (e.g., TSRSim) for the design and analysis of flood management systems in the UK and internationally, via joint projects with consulting engineering companies, and through the influence of our research on national and regional policies towards improved land use management practices (e.g., Glastir, Wales).
The Hydro-environmental Research Centre (HRC) at Cardiff University has developed a widely used hydro-environmental numerical model, called DIVAST (Depth Integrated Velocities And Solute Transport). DIVAST addresses the need for more accurate models to predict flood risk and water quality levels for a range of extreme events. The model has been implemented in commercial codes, marketed by CH2M HILL (previously Halcrow), and used in design studies, for example, undertaken by Buro Happold. The impacts of the research are marked environmental, health, economic and industrial benefits. It is used by major organisations around the world on large-scale projects and, in particular, for mitigation planning against national and international risks associated with floods and water quality.
This research has demonstrated the effectiveness of an experimental method of public engagement - Competency Groups (CGs) - in situations in which the expertise involved in managing flood risk is called into question by the communities living with such risk. Working in two test areas (Ryedale, Yorkshire and the Uck catchment, Sussex) it has enabled novel research collaborations between scientists and concerned citizens that have generated bespoke flood models and new flood management options. The work of the Ryedale CG and the `upstream storage' proposals that it generated were incorporated into a successful multi-agency bid to a national competition launched by Defra for a project to test new flood management solutions for Pickering, and are now under construction in the catchment. Having become a national exemplar, the reach of the Competency Group approach in tackling public controversies about environmental expertise continues to extend beyond these two areas, within the UK and also abroad.
Water is essential to society. The water industry constitutes a significant part of economic activity locally, nationally and internationally, and land and water management are crucial to environmental quality. Typically, water resources are governed by top-down, hierarchical approaches at state level. In contrast, the research of Professor Laurence Smith has demonstrated the success of approaches that privilege local stakeholder input and collaborative management at catchment level. Research outputs have contributed to improved and reformed water management in the UK and internationally, evidenced by their adoption by local authorities, NGOs, Defra and others, and promotion in the guidance proffered by organisations including Defra and the OECD.
The intensification of food production, fossil fuel combustion and water consumption has led to substantial increases in the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus flushed from land to water. The accumulation of these nutrients in freshwaters, estuaries and the coastal zone has led to reductions in biodiversity, the loss of ecosystem services, and compromised water security. The UK is a signatory to a raft of international conventions and policies which require reductions in the flux of nutrients from land to the water and restoration of ecosystem health and services. To meet these obligations, policymakers need information on the scale of the problem, the sources of nutrients and the effectiveness of intervention measures.
Research in the Unit has directly addressed this need. It has provided robust scientific evidence of the scale of the problem and the sources of nutrient enrichment, and has provided the capability to test intervention and policy scenarios at field to national scales. It has fed directly into the development of monitoring approaches and mitigation measures now in use by the Environment Agency (EA) and Defra, informed the development of UK Government policy in relation to catchment management, and supported compliance with the EU Water Framework Directive, the renegotiation of the Gothenburg Protocol under the International Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, and reporting on discharges of nutrient pollution to the North East Atlantic under the OSPAR Convention.
Current Defra policy on river catchment management has been informed by our interdisciplinary research over a 10-year period, much of it addressing the challenges posed by the EU Water Framework Directive. Outcomes from our research are reflected in the policies proposed in the 2011 Water for Life White Paper and also in the multi-million pound investment plans of water companies. We have also influenced a whole-community framework for catchment management in the UK that was piloted in 2011 and has now been extended to 100 catchments across England.
Newcastle's research has shaped national policy and practice on the management of flooding and agricultural pollution, and international policy and practice in the developing world on managing forested catchments and sustainable water resources management. We show evidence that our research has:
This case study concerns the impact of interdisciplinary research on policies and practices to support river restoration and the aims of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD), which requires member states to bring riverine hydromorphology and ecology to 'good' status by 2015, measured against a reference condition. The research achieved impact through an evolving process of co-production, in that academics engaged with user communities from the outset. Richards, Hughes and Horn (Department of Geography, University of Cambridge) worked closely with users to design a knowledge transfer guidebook to communicate restoration science to users.
This was distributed amongst Environment Agency (EA) staff to aid the planning and implementation of restoration projects. Further impacts included promoting floodplain restoration for flood risk management (Richards, as a member of an EA Regional Flood and Coastal Commitee); a rapid assessment method for river quality (Richards and Horn) that forms the basis of cross-boundary WFD compliance practices across the whole of Ireland; and knowledge transfer of EU WFD ecological assessment practices to China (Richards).
The project combined stakeholder knowledge with natural science to identify future scenarios and adaptation options for uplands. Research into upland ecosystem services identified win-win scenarios (e.g. around carbon management) and important trade-offs (e.g. effects on biodiversity). These were embedded within government policy reports leading to additional work in government departments seeking to overcome policy barriers in these areas in order to implement the recommendations from the research. Overcoming these policy barriers has influenced government's decision to work in partnership to launch a new peatland carbon code, focussing on upland peatlands, creating corporate social responsibility (CSR) options for companies via peatland protection and restoration.