A new UK-wide guide has been published which outlines how forests and woodlands can play a role in reducing the effects of flooding in vulnerable communities.
I know this will be of particular interest to some of the residents living in the villages, who have long called for more tree planting in certain areas, which are known to be affected by river and stream flooding.
Trees can play a key role in mitigating floods, particularly reducing downstream flood risks. They affect the volume of water, the path floods take and the speed at which flood waters can hit a community. Use in conjunction with other well known flood reduction techniques they can be a fantastic tool in flood mitigation.
The new guidance will help land managers and foresters deliver better approaches to managing flood risk, in particular the communities which are down stream of a river.
Richard Stanford, Forestry Commission Chief Executive, said:
Our woodlands and forests play a key role in reducing the peaks in water flow. This helps to protect communities across the UK vulnerable to flooding from their devastating impacts.
This new Practice Guide will enable the forestry sector to harness the benefits of tree growing to reduce the risk of flooding, while ensuring that management operations do not increase peak flows. It will promote working with natural processes to deliver a more sustainable, catchment-based approach to managing flood risk to benefit communities across the UK.
I trust that Staffordshire County Council, the Environment Agency and the local resilience forum will review and implement the guidance involving groups like Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, the NFU and the Forestry Commission to help keep our riverside communities beautiful, environmentally friendly and effective against flooding.
You can take a look at the guidance yourself here:
