Drought and Flood

Historical evidence shows that extreme hydrological events such as floods and droughts are becoming increasingly frequent due to changing weather patterns associated with climate change. The variability in precipitation affects water availability, leading to both water shortages during droughts and excess water during flooding, complicating water resource management. This trend poses serious risks to the economy, infrastructure, ecosystems, and communities and the cost of managing these extremes is escalating, impacting agriculture, insurance, and public services. Increased flooding can lead to significant property damage, disrupt habitats and lead to water quality issues, while prolonged droughts can reduce the availability of water for drinking, irrigation, and industrial use, threatening food security and livelihoods and reduce resilience in natural systems. 

To mitigate these impacts, there is an urgent need for adaptive strategies, including both landscape-scale changes to agronomic practices and nature-based solutions and improved infrastructure planning, to enhance resilience against future climate extremes. To enhance water resource management and reduce risks, our research into nature-based solutions (NbS) is focussing on leveraging natural processes and ecosystems, offering multiple benefits, such as improved water quality, enhanced biodiversity, and increased carbon sequestration. For example, our large five-year strategic research project for the Scottish Government, Achieving Multi-purpose Nature-Based solutions assesses and enhances water-related ecosystem services of Nature-Based Solutions in catchments. We explore how NBS can work across multiple sectors and scales to achieve transformative change.  By integrating NbS into water management practices, we can not only tackle immediate hydrological challenges but also contribute to broader efforts to combat climate change and biodiversity loss, fostering sustainable and resilient communities.