Prof David Gowing and the FMP Advocacy Officer, Olivia Nelson, contributed to the latest POSTNote briefing from the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) on the Restoration of Freshwater Habitats. POST is a research and knowledge exchange service based in the UK Parliament. It works to ensure that the best available research evidence and information is brought to bear on the legislative process and scrutiny of Government. It primarily supports the select committees of both Houses. The FMP contributed key messages and papers to add to the evidence presented in the briefing relating to the restoration of freshwater habitats in the UK and the key challenges to delivering this. The briefing outlined how freshwater habitats, such floodplain meadows, provide major benefits to society through services such as flood risk reduction and drinking water. However as it highlighted, many of these habitats are in a poor condition and commitments to improve freshwater habitats may not be met under current plans in England. The briefing provided a number of recommendations which the FMP also noted including:
- increased and long-term funding to deliver larger-scale projects
- changes to policy and legislation to deliver more joined-up decision making and to include wet floodplain habitats in restoration targets and land-use policies
- further prevention of degradation, including better enforcement of existing legislation
- the removal of barriers to nature-based solutions
