Economic, environmental and societal benefits of river restoration to be analysed from source to sea for first time.
Today, The Wildlife Trusts and RSA Insurance, an Intact company, announce a new 18-month project to map and analyse the economic, environmental and societal benefits of restoring nature along the Trent, England’s longest river from source to sea. The opportunities for nature-based solutions along its 223.5 miles will be examined allowing the partners to create a transformational vision for the Trent’s future, and a blueprint for restoring all rivers in England for the first time.
At a time when flood, drought, polluted water and lack of access to nature are major threats, the Rivers 2040 project aims seize the opportunity for change presented by the closure of power stations and gravel pits, changes in farming and a post-industrial future for people living along the Trent.
A new approach to restoring rivers chimes with the independent Cunliffe Review of water management which called for integrated action to tackle pressures from the water industry and other sectors. UK Government is expected to progress new legislation to enact this.
Rivers 2040 analysis will identify opportune land use changes and ideal locations for:
- Flood risk management such as through reconnecting rivers to their floodplains
- Providing people with access to nature, recreation and tourism opportunities
- Agriculture and fisheries
- Aggregate extraction alongside restoration of natural habitats
- Protecting wildlife habitats and restoring others, for example, to help salmon migrate and bring back keystone species such as beavers to manage the habitat
Dr Rob Stoneman, Director of Landscape Recovery at The Wildlife Trusts, says: “Rivers are in crisis. They are suffering from pollution, disconnection from flood plains and drought – yet earlier this year communities were threatened by floods. At another level, we know that people are healthier and happier when they have wild places to roam on their doorsteps.
“Like many rivers, the Trent is a shadow of what it once was: its floodplains have been built on, its wildlife much diminished and a changing climate is now taking its toll. But we now have an opportunity to create a new future for this once great river because we have new tools that can help us understand the river’s value to society.
“By looking at one catchment as a whole, we’ll be able to demonstrate if, for example, planting trees in a particular place upstream will stop flooding in another location downstream. Or by releasing beavers into one wetland will improve water quality and prevent drought occurring in another. Currently, people tend to think about the river in their own patch – but considering the bigger picture can reap much greater rewards.”
While detailed proposals exist for individual river catchments, no blueprint has ever been created before to show how to improve a whole river system at this scale. The Rivers 2040 partners believe that by mapping all existing restoration projects along England’s longest river it will be possible to examine their impact as a whole and work out where more nature recovery schemes could boost communities’ resilience. The economic benefits and impacts on the insurance industry and customers will be at the core of the work.
A recent report ‘Assessing the multiple benefits of natural flood management’ by The Wildlife Trusts showed that every £1 invested in natural flood management is expected to deliver £10 of benefits over 30 years and that nature is one of the best defences against flooding in a changing climate.
Alison Gardner, Head of Social Impact and ESG at RSA Insurance, an Intact company, says: “Ultimately, we want to see more flood resilient communities and that’s exactly what nature-based solutions like Rivers 2040 can deliver. By restoring rivers and floodplains, we can reduce risk, protect homes and livelihoods, and create healthier, more vibrant places to live.”
Rivers 2040 is a collaboration between Trent Rivers Trust and eight Wildlife Trusts: Travelling downstream, they are: Birmingham & Black Country Wildlife Trust, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust, Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.
Matt Buckler, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, and Rivers 2040 project sponsor, says: “The River Trent is one of the country’s major rivers and flows from its source in Staffordshire through the metropolitan hubs of the Midlands and meets the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, where it finally reaches the North Sea. It flows past about six million people and its tributaries provide millions with drinking water.
“Historically, its valley had many wetlands and enormous numbers of salmon and other fish swam its length. But today, much of the valley is characterised by intensive agriculture, sand and gravel extraction, industrial pollution, vast power stations and huge development pressure. It’s time to invest in helping nature recover, not least because natural flood management and other measures are good news for people too.”
The Rivers 2040 vision will be published in the autumn of 2026 and go on to deliver the vision over the next fifteen years. Please see Editor’s Notes below for examples of existing nature recovery projects along the River Trent.
ENDS
Media enquiries:
David Stewart
Email: David.Stewart@uk.rsagroup.com
Tel: +44 (0)7971 182 813
Editor’s notes
Examples of existing schemes along the River Trent include:
- River Trent re-naturalised around Stoke City football stadium: SUNRISE - The completion of our exciting Victoria Ground project
- Beavers managing wetlands: Willington Wetlands | Derbyshire Wildlife Trust
- Land at former power station returned to nature: Charity revitalising power station land to boost nature | Staffordshire Wildlife Trust
Assessing the multiple benefits of Natural Flood Management: press release, summary and report.
Natural flood management includes:
- Planting trees, hedgerows, woodland: to capture rainwater before it hits the ground, slow overland flow, and increase water storage below ground
- Bringing back beavers: their activities store water in the landscape through building dams, digging channels and more
- Creating ponds and wetlands: to collect water, and hold it in wet periods
- Restoring peat bogs: which can hold vast amounts of water
- Regenerating soils and wilder grasslands: improving soil structure allows rainfall to penetrate the surface, and rough, tussocky grasslands are more effective at storing water than intensively managed grasslands
- Constructing leaky dams or log diverters: to release water slowly and to move waters out onto flood plains rather than build up in a river
- Restoring rivers: re-engineering or modifying a river’s course to restore its natural meandering shape or to improve its ecological health mitigates high flow events
- Sustainable Drainage Schemes: measures to increase water infiltration in urban areas such as de-paving, ponds or vegetated ditches (bio-swales)
Environment Agency evidence: Working with natural processes to reduce flood risk 2024 - GOV.UK
Length of the River Trent: the Trent is 185 miles from the source at Biddulph Moor to Trent Falls, which is still 38.5 miles to the North Sea. From the source to the sea the Trent is 223.5 miles, making it the longest river in the country. It's the only river whose estuary is named differently to the river.
About RSA Insurance, an Intact company
RSA Insurance is a multinational insurance group. We are one of the world’s oldest general insurers. We provide peace of mind to individuals and protect small businesses and large organisations from uncertainty. We use our capabilities to anticipate and improve outcomes for customers by our direct channel, our broker relationships or partner organisations. We have established businesses in the UK, Ireland and continental Europe. In 2021, the former RSA Group Plc came under new ownership and is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Intact Financial Corporation (IFC). IFC has invested heavily in building resilient communities since its inception in 2009, funding over a hundred climate resilience projects from coast-to-coast in Canada. For more information about RSA Insurance, please visit www.rsainsurance.co.uk.
About The Wildlife Trusts
The Wildlife Trusts are making the world wilder and helping to ensure that nature is part of everyone’s lives. We are a grassroots movement of 46 charities with more than 940,000 members and 39,000 volunteers. No matter where you are in Britain, there is a Wildlife Trust inspiring people and saving, protecting and standing up for the natural world. With the support of our members, we care for and restore over 2,600 special places for nature on land and run marine conservation projects and collect vital data on the state of our seas. Every Wildlife Trust works within its local community to inspire people to create a wilder future – from advising thousands of landowners on how to manage their land to benefit wildlife, to connecting hundreds of thousands of school children with nature every year. www.wildlifetrusts.org