The Nature Recovery Project has partnered with global environment NGO WRAP to address the issue of water security and drive regenerative agricultural projects through the Water Roadmap.
The partnership comes with a £1.14 million investment to support and accelerate the essential work already being carried out in the UK and internationally.
These works are being done through the Water Roadmap, which is managed by WRAP under the UK Food and Drink Pact.
The Water Roadmap
The Water Roadmap is a funded initiative that supports many collective action projects working on vital at-risk water ecosystems.
Many of the projects are operating in areas that are providing large amounts of the UK’s fresh food including regions in Africa, Peru, Spain, and the UK itself.
These key agricultural regions will see the projects bring water stewardship into supply chains and deliver nature-based solutions to improve water quality and availability.
A range of innovative local regenerative agricultural projects aim to improve water quality and availability using nature-based solutions.
The funding from this partnership will provide long-term support over the next four years.
A grant fund will be established offering projects the opportunity to apply for additional funding to support their work.
Projects
Habitats in the the Great Ouse catchment on the River Ouse have been heavily modified in recent years.
The area is experiencing over-abstraction (the extraction of water faster than it can be replenished) and pollution from water companies with large amounts of nitrates, phosphates, and slurry leaking into the water from agricultural activities.
A new project being supported by the Water Roadmap aims to expand interventions from Norfolk upstream to Bedford.
This project aims to help return the River Ouse to a good ecological status and prove how collective action can take place in a high land value, high output landscape.
Risks
An estimated 47% of vegetables and 84% of fruit in the UK is imported from overseas, often from water scarce and drought-prone regions.
Global agriculture accounts for 70% of all water use and the Food and Agriculture Organization predicts that by 2030, global demand for water will double.
The United Nations also predicts by 2030 there will be an overall 40% water shortfall. The Environment Agency warns the UK could face serious water shortages if no action is taken.
Extreme weather events threaten the security of water and food supply chains, while nature-based solutions have the power to help.
These solutions at scale will help improve water management in high risk areas, increase biodiversity, drive a sustainable food chain, and mitigate against climate change.
