There is no doubt that the Coalition Government in their espousal of localism and Big Society are very keen to bring decision making and delivery to stakeholders. This was one of the key points to emerge from Richard Benyon and the chairmen of Natural England and the Environment Agency in their launch of the catchment approach at the March 2011 Defra Water Stakeholders Forum. At the heart of the catchment approach is the idea that planning and delivery will be done at this scale and this view is widely supported in the water sector as a whole.

This changing view has emerged at a time when there has been considerable debate about the first round of River Basin District Plans for the Water Framework Directive. Whilst there is widespread recognition of the a great deal of work that underpins these plans there has been very considerable criticism of them by many organisations not least for their business as usual delivery programme which is heavily linked to water company investment.

The need for more effective delivery and engagement with a wider range of stakeholders at a catchment scale has been highlighted by many organisations and is recognised fully by the Government and Defra in it’s thinking. This is also happening at a time of the severest financial and organisational constraints for a generation; we can’t afford to waste people’s time and money.

During the last 6 years we have seen a quantum shift in the thinking about effective environmental programme delivery in the water and other sectors, including the following:

• Major research studies by the University of East Anglia (RELU), ADAS,FWAG, the NGOs, Natural England, The National Trust, The River Restoration Trusts, many water companies and often partnered by local Environment Agency staff have shown over and over again the basic, and common core of principle for effective and integrated catchment management and partnership working. We don’t need any more studies to show us these principles or how to engage stakeholders.
• The recognition that projects can deliver sustainability, using ecosystem approach thinking, delivering multiple objectives and benefits. The development of broader valuation methodologies around ecosystem goods and services is also gaining in traction
• The successful implementation of a number of moorland restoration projects has demonstrated the benefits of an integrated approach for many objectives including water quality, biodiversity gain, carbon capture, farming and flood management. In large measure the thinking developed by these projects has lead to Ofwat recognising over 100 catchment projects in PR09 – as opposed to 2 in PR04.
• The Catchment Sensitive Farming scheme introduced primarily to address issues of diffuse pollution again works to achieve multiple benefits using over 50 measures that enable farmers to achieve real benefits for the water environment and biodiversity. The success of this programme has been recognised by the continued funding for the programme by the Coalition Government.

There is no doubt that we need to learn the lessons quickly from this work to help build a catchment approach that works for all catchments in a cost effective way. This meeting will take forward a number of the key ideas arising from this learning.

Aim

The Coalition Government have given the strongest endorsement for the need for catchment scale delivery fully involving local stakeholders of the Water Framework Directive and other environmental programmes. The aim of this conference will be to describe the major catchment scale initiatives and will focus on how these can be best drawn together into an overall catchment approach that delivers sustainable, integrated and effective gains for the environment and society. The objectives of the meeting are:

• To review the current progress of the major catchment based initiatives: Government – The Catchment Approach, Catchment Sensitive Farming, Water Company (Ofwat supported) catchment schemes, Environment Agency pilots, NGO projects, Catchment / River restoration projects
• To explore what the roll out of catchment management across all 100 catchments would involve - including the role of lead organisations, guidance, resources, staffing, funding, knowledge and information sharing, the roles of statutory and non-governmental partners
• To consider how these projects and programmes interact to produce a long term programme of catchment management to deliver multiple objectives and benefits
• To consider the key issues the catchment approach raises for the next round of the periodic review, WFD delivery and legislative opportunities presented by the Water Regulation and Natural Environment White Papers.