evidence and policy into practical adaptation to climate change in catchment management ·...
TRANSCRIPT
Evidence and policy into practical adaptation
to climate change in catchment management
Dr. Julian Wright
Senior Advisor for Climate Change
What will I say?
1. We have some really nice evidence out there, but effort is needed to communicate this.
2. We have a policy framework that is very supportive of using river basin management to deliver climate adaptation.
3. The EA is starting to work with practitioners to implement sensible and practical adaptation responses. Your help and advice is needed.
Quick summary of some of our
projects on climate change risks
Observations of water temperature rise
Rates of change in river temperature per decade 1990-2006
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4
South
West
Wales North
West
Thames Midlands Southern North
East
Anglian
Environment Agency Region
Rate
of
ch
an
ge
oC
per
decad
e
Source: unpublished data from: des Clers, S., Hughes, M. and Simpson, F.W. Surface Water Temperature
Archive for UK freshwater and estuarine sites. Environment Agency Science Report SR070035 in press.
Keeping rivers cool
Tree planting
We’re also producing shade maps to help target tree planting to where they will be most effective – mainly aimed at smaller channels – image shows relative shade where red is least shade and blue most shade
Afforestation
Hydrological impacts: evidence that well-managed forests can reduce peak flows for smaller, more frequent events but not for extreme events.
Hydraulic impacts: Growing evidence that riparian and floodplain woodland can attenuate flood propagation through increased hydraulic roughness.
Riparian trees shade rivers and can manage water temperatures.
Reduction in nitrate to groundwater following woodland planting
(from Hansen et al., 2004)
Projecting change: Future river flows and
groundwater levels
Funded: CEH Wallingford, BGS, Wallingford HydroSolutions, Defra, UKWIR, EA
Projected river flow time series at 200 locations in England, Wales and Scotland to 2100
Methods for transposing results to other locations
Time series of groundwater levels for 30 locations in England, Wales and Scotland to 2100
Detailed distributed groundwater modelling for one of these locations
Advice and recommendations for decision-makers on how to use these
results. Using UKCP09 – probabilistic projections unlike UKCIP02
Probabilistic projection for 2050s winter rainfall
(under medium emissions scenario for the South
West England River Basin District)
Percentage change in winter (DJF) mean flow for the 2050s
(compared to 1961-90)
Percentage change in summer (JJA) mean flow for the 2050s
Prudhomme et al. 2012.The drying up of Britain? A national estimate of changes in seasonal river
flows from 11 Regional Climate Model simulations“.Hydrological Processess Today
Coping with uncertainty: peatlands
No consensus on causes of change
High cost and impacts
Unclear which management interventions effective
Source: Clark et al, 2010
Further evidence needs
Integration of our climate change understanding into national assessments of pressures. Understanding the performance and flexibility of measures. Better understanding of urban catchments including costs and benefits of green infrastructure.
Policy on catchment management
and climate change
Climate Change Risk Assessment
Adaptation
“Outputs from risk assessments and the assumptions used in developing our business plans, must be agreed and recognised in the mechanism for setting price limits if adaptation actions are to be delivered on the ground”
Peter Simpson, Managing Director, Anglian Water
Foreword to climate change adaptation report
Towards a National Adaption Programme
Vision: “A society which makes timely, far sighted and well
Informed decisions to address the risks and opportunities
posed by a changing climate.”
Launch of CCR
A (Jan
2012)
Start of co-creation process
(Feb 2012)
Economics of Climate Resilience project concludes
(Aug 2012)
Early draft of NAP
(Late 2012)
Near final draft of NAP
(2013)
EA Delivery Role (April 2012-15)
Climate Ready (NAP) themes
Health and wellbeing
Business and services
Infrastructure and built environment
Agriculture and forestry
Natural environment
Climate Ready initial ideas on priority
action for catchment management
Better engage with CLG and others to improve urban water management (particularly SUDS) Join up with CAP and RDPE Deliver tree planting in the right places to support water management and other NAP objectives Integrate climate change into catchment scale delivery, particularly through working with Catchment Pilots in the first instance Build scenarios of long term risks to WFD objectives and possible responses Work with Europe to ensure future water policy will deliver against climate risks
Water White Paper
A reformed abstraction regime “Reform must reinforce the message on the need to adapt to climate change, giving abstractors clear signals on water availability to allow them to plan effectively and invest for the future.”
A reformed CAP “We will plan how to spread [CAP] funds across economic and environmental priorities, and gain better value for money by identifying measures that deliver multiple benefits for water, soils, air quality, climate change and biodiversity.”
PR14
Water today, water tomorrow
Upwards and downwards drivers of operational emissions 2010-15
SCaMP
United Utilities and RSPB
Linked to agri-environment funding
20,000 hectares in the Trough of Bowland and the Peak District, including 21 farms and 13,000 hectares designated as SSSI
Peatland restoration and planting of oak woodland
Estimated sequestration of nearly 1,500 tonnes of CO2 a year
Tittesworth Reservoir
Severn Trent and Trent Rivers Trust
Problem with pesticides in drinking water
Estimate for treatment costs at Tittesworth - £4M capex and £50K opex
Working with farmers through CSF approach
Improved slurry storage, purchase of weedwiper, pesticide use limited to glyphosate
Does climate change feature in
EU water policy?
2007/60/EC, the Floods Directive – 7 references to climate change
COM (2007) 414 final, Communication on Water Scarcity and Droughts – 8 references to climate change
2000/60/EC, the Water Framework Directive – no reference to climate change
WFD, despite lack of mention of climate
change, is well designed to support
adaptation……
Clear objectives
Well organised monitoring
Cyclical – flexible to change and uncertainty
Management of pressures – inherently leads to no and
low regrets measures
Encourages partnership
Links with flood risk and land management
(Can also integrate cost of carbon through economic
analysis)
CIS guidance
Endorsed by EU Water Directors in 2009
RBMP process recognised as primary way to build adaptation to climate change into water management
As a minimum Member States should
demonstrate:
1. how climate change projections have informed assessments of WFD pressures and impacts;
2. how monitoring programmes are configured to detect climate change impacts;
3. how selected measures are as robust as possible to projected climate conditions.
Setting objectives for river basins
RBM in a Changing Climate – CIS guidance: Principle 4: Setting objectives:
“Although the use of exemptions is an integral part of RBMP, applying exemptions without justification in line with the WFD cannot be seen as a general strategy for coping with the consequences of climate variability and change.”
Integrating climate change
adaptation into catchment planning
Significant Water Management Issues:
Future scenarios for RBM
To determine how future-proof current and proposed management for the water environment is by..
developing a number of plausible alternative futures for river basin management to…
2030, 2050, 2100?
SIMCAT modelling
Material consumption
Sustainability
led governance
Growth led
governance
Dematerialised
consumption
‘Innovation’ ‘Sustainable
Behaviour
‘Local
Resilience
‘Uncontrolled
Demand
Translating science:
wetland managers tool
UKCP09, Future Flows, wetland models
Groundwater, rain and river-fed wetlands
Results for features of conservation interest
Guidance signposts adaptation options
More information contact Harriet Orr, EA
Demonstration of climate
resilience for catchment methods
HOW TO USE QUICK QUERYRURAL MAN
MATRIX
CLIMATE
MODELLINGLINKS
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O Potentially relevant measures
1) Sector A Develop a risk map of the farm
2) Category M Manure testing
3) Pressure N Develop a Manure (Farm Waste) Management Plan
Increase scraping frequency in dairy cow cubicle housing
Additional targeted straw bedding for cattle housing
Washing down of dairy cow collecting yards
Outwintering of cattle on woodchip stand off padsFrequent removal of slurry from beneath slatted storage in pig housingPart slatted floor design for pig housing
Install air scrubbers or bio-trickling filters in pig housing
Convert caged laying hen housing to belt removal
More frequent manure removal from poultry housing
In house poultry manure drying
Increase the capacity of farm manure stores to improve applications
Install covers on slurry stores
Allow cattle slurry stores to develop a natural crust
Use anaerobic digestion for farm manures
Minimise the volume of dirty water or slurry produced - separate clean (e.g. roof run-off) from dirty; treat before spreading or discharge
Adopt batch storage of solid manure
Compost solid manure
Site solid heaps away from watercourses
Store manure on concrete and collect effluent
Cover solid manure stores with sheeting
Use liquid/solid manure separation techniques
Use manure additives e.g. Alum
Change from a slurry to solid manure handling system
Change from solid manure to slurry handling system
Manure spreader calibration
Limit manure applications to specified kg N/Ha annual standards
Do not apply manure to high risk areas
Do not spread slurry or poultry manure at high risk times
Do not spread organic manure during closed periods
Moving from autumn to spring application for slurries and poultry manure
Use slurry band spreading application techniques
Use slurry injection application techniques
Do not spread FYM to fields at high risk times
Incorporate manure into the soil
Transport manure to neighbouring farms
Incinerate poultry litter
Export manure to incineration plant
COLOUR CODED SUMMARY
Choose from:
Agriculture
Manure Management
Nutrients
QUICK QUERY GUIDANCE
CONTENTSPROJECT
TEAM
To perform a quick query for the climate resilience scores for measures: in the "Choose from" Menu below, select area(s) of interest to you (Sector, Category or WFD Pressure) or explore all 228 measures byleaving the fields blank. Having made your selection, click on the grey selector button.
SELECTER
What have I said?
1. We have some really nice evidence out there, but effort is needed to communicate this.
2. We have a policy framework that is very supportive of using river basin management to deliver climate adaptation.
3. The EA is starting to work with practitioners to implement sensible and practical adaptation responses. Your help and advice is needed.
