This last week has seen the usual Two Bridges Road closed after flooding in Sidford, whilst tragically a dog drowned in the fast-flowing River Sid in the Byes park.
Thankfully, earlier in the year, £1.4m of funding was awarded to prevent flooding from the Rivers Otter and Sid – with the focus on natural flood management schemes to slow the flow.
Looking at the bigger picture, the more frequent floods reported by the European Environment Agency make it clear that “we must adapt and prepare for life in a changing climate”.
And meanwhile, the Grantham Research Institute on climate change at the LSE is asking: Will the latest floods in Europe finally act as a wake-up call for the UK?
With major floods affecting large areas of continental Europe, including Austria, Poland, Romania, Italy and the Czech Republic – and now the UK – over the past few weeks, we once again see people devastated and lives in ruins. We know that flooding is one of a wide range of risks that are now much more likely because of climate change. Yet time and time again we see leaders on the back foot on this issue: failing to take decisive action to address known climate risks and waiting for crisis events before releasing funds and making commitments to act. By taking this approach they miss opportunities to increase climate resilience in ways that can reduce harm when crisis events happen and, crucially, deliver much wider benefits – which in the UK include opportunities to reduce health inequalities and attract inward investment…
While upfront investment in action to increase resilience is needed, and should come from a range of sources, our work with the Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance shows that the benefits of making investments and taking action to adapt before a disaster can be significant. The economic case does not just rely on avoided losses, where the cost of implementing resilience measures is offset by costs avoided when disasters happen. There is strong evidence that investment in climate resilience provides wider economic benefits such as increasing the viability and attractiveness of locations for development. Wider health and environmental benefits are also common: for example, investment in green infrastructure such as street trees and rain gardens provides health co-benefits for people and nature. These ‘triple wins’ are explored in our research on the triple dividends of resilience and a paper with the World Resources Institute.
It is hoped, then, that the proactive measures from the authorities in managing flooding along the River Sid will help the River Sid manage climate change over the coming years.
A look from four years ago at Natural Flood Management in East Devon from the Vision Group for Sidmouth
Photo: River Sid at Fortescue © David Smith :: Geograph Britain and Ireland
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