FOUR RIVERS RECOVERY PROJECT:
Regenerating East Suffolk's River Landscapes
THE PROBLEM
Most of the UK’s rivers are seriously degraded, and only 14% of English rivers are in good ecological status. None of them have attained good chemical status. Most of our rivers and their floodplains are simply not able to cope with the rainfall levels which we are now seeing. Localised flooding is regularly impacting on the lives and wellbeing of our communities. Suffolk’s rivers have deteriorated in line with the national picture.
Despite this, Suffolk’s inland waterways form extensive and important blue/green corridors. Clean rivers are major natural capital assets, both in the recovery of nature and in combating the impacts of climate change. Some of the most significant environments in the UK are the rivers of East Suffolk and their floodplains.
The environmental and societal challenges faced by local communities within East Suffolk are considerable. They will require bold and transformative solutions to build a sustainable and resilient living landscape for the future. The scale and complex nature of managing a shared multipurpose landscape requires a whole-system approach initiated and driven by local communities, working closely in partnership with enablers who are there to facilitate, support and empower local action. We already have some isolated examples of positive change and good practice, but systemic, integrated and cohesive strategic planning is required to scale up to the catchment area.
THE SOLUTION
Deben Climate Centre proposes the establishment of a “Climate Focus Area” on each River Catchment. Their primary focus is to restore degraded ecosystems, to recover nature so that essential ecosystem services are secure, and to test several flood mitigation measures. Our plan will run for three years, with identified and time-bounded actions and outcomes.
The key elements of the 3-year plan are:
1. Community-based landscape-scale restoration, nature recovery and sustainable land stewardship.
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Train communities to recover the ecological and chemical status of the Deben catchment areas.
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Work with local communities, agencies, local Government, farmers, Anglian Water, and other key stakeholders.
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Contribute towards landscape-scale restoration and nature recovery.
2. Roll out Citizen Science Environment Monitoring programme.
Share the knowledge and skills built on the Deben by the DCC and the University of Suffolk Nurture best practices in sustainable land stewardship, circular lifestyles, and climate change action.
3. Restore ecosystem function and reduce flooding with nature-based interventions.
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Introduce one Beaver Colony
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Identify and install three 10-metre x 1Km Buffer Strips
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Install off-river measures to slow down water flow, for example leaky dams and swales
PROJECT OUTCOMES
1.
Measurable increase in nature recovery and carbon storage.
2.
Measurable improvement in the extent and frequency of flooding.
3.
​Measurable improvement in water quality in the non-tidal section of the Deben.
4.
Reduction in damage from flooding to infrastructure and buildings.
5.
Reduction in flooding of productive farm fields.
This project is made possible thanks to the contributions of:
East Suffolk Council
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University of Suffolk
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