The Environment Agency has published a position statement on the use of nature-based solutions (NbS) to support sustainable water resources, which includes how they work, benefits and current evidence.
Scope of the position statement covers a range of actions, including:
- improvements to soil health and land management to promote infiltration and retention of water
- construction of run-off attenuation features (RAFs) such as retention basins, permeable surfaces, ponds, bunds, trenches and swales
- wetland and peatland restoration
- leaky barriers in water courses and riparian vegetation management
The paper also covers river and floodplain restoration, including reconnecting floodplains to the river channel. RAFs are a landscape intervention that intercepts and attenuates a hydrological flow pathway to provide multiple benefits, including flood management and improved water quality. They are designed to create features that ‘slow, store and filter’ run-off in the rural landscape.
The policy paper, which applies to England, is for:
- water companies
- regional water resources groups
- environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
- local authorities
- farmers and landowners
The Agency says it expects NbS for water resources outcomes to feature in:
- regional water resources plans
- water company water resource management plans (WRMPs)
- environmental land management projects
The Environment Agency is planning to publish their handbook on NbS for water resources in summer 2026. This will set out how to use NbS to support water resources and design NbS projects to realise the benefits described in the position statement.
In February 2025 the Environment Agency’s Chief Scientist’s Group published a new and detailed 150 page report on the multiple benefits of nature-based solutions.
Click here to access the position statement online