Water is a scarce and at-risk resource. It faces pressures from climate change, population growth, urbanisation, and pollution, while being affected by many industries and sectors. For instance, road runoff from highways, effluent from manufacturing, sprays from agriculture, recreational visits from community members and impacts from water company operations.
It is essential that we take on a wider view of catchments and understand how each choice made in one sector impacts other areas and the local natural environment. A holistic and flexible approach to water management must consider a defined natural catchment area as a complex and intertwined system between natural and human elements. With no single stretch of river in England or Northern Ireland in good overall health, the need for action has never been more necessary.
Water bodies in England are considered from a set of probable and confirmed Reasons for Not Achieving Good status (RNAGs). Throw in the economic importance of nature and our reliance on health ecosystems, multiple sectors are part of the issue, and therefore multiple sectors, agencies and stakeholders must come together to be the solution.
And whilst catchments are complex, the solution doesn’t need to be complicated. This is where Integrated Catchment System Management (ICSM) comes in.
Integrated Catchment System Management in practice
The goal of ICSM is to ensure that water and other related resources and services (such as soil, carbon, health & wellbeing, and biodiversity) are sustainable and resilient. ICSM understands that water flows across social and political borders and sectoral boundaries. Land use, infrastructure, governance, and social behaviour all interact within a catchment. ICSM demonstrates that we can make better use of our limited resources and promote informed decision-making through transboundary collaboration.
ICSM is not a new concept. The Catchment Based Approach has been in place in England for 10 years. Improved understanding around opportunities for catchment restoration, linked to Nature Positive initiatives, has increased it importance. Innovation in Nature Tech, modelling and restoration tools and methods has increased opportunities. More than 40 countries have signed up to the Freshwater Challenge. The challenge uses ICSM to substantiate, integrate, and accelerate targeted solutions under three pillars “Knowledge, Plans & Strategies, and Resources”. It captures sustainable development, biodiversity, climate, and disaster risk reduction for 300,000km of rivers and 350 million hectares of wetlands.
The ICSM approach involves multiple stakeholders, scales of implementation, disciplines, and values. It demands a high level of co-development and alignment of needs and planning for multiple outcomes. Indeed, collaboration across multiple sectors, industries, and local communities is essential. If we have a defined vision for a river catchment led by the community, we can co-develop the right approach to achieving it.
The involvement of multiple stakeholders aligning goals is crucial to the success of ICSM. United Utilities, Greater Manchester Combined Authority and The Environment Agency came together to sign a memorandum of understanding to change how water is managed across Greater Manchester. The Integrated Water Management Plan was created through understanding the importance of water, from both an environmental and cultural connection. Stantec supported the partners in developing the plan and undertaking an assessment to determine the joint vision and formulating a roadmap and good governance to meet it.
It is important to note that ICSM is a context-specific and dynamic process that requires continuous evaluation and improvement.
The Benefits of Integrated Catchment Systems
The key reason for using an integrated approach is that it provides multiple benefits from a relatively small number of actions. To date, many management programmes work in isolation, missing opportunities to benefit from how they might interact with each other.
Improved water quality and availability: ICSM can address the sources and impacts of pollution, restore natural habitats, optimise water efficiency, and increase water storage and recharge. It can improve the quality and availability of water for drinking, irrigation, industry, recreation, and ecosystem services.
Reduced flood and drought risks: Implementing nature-based solutions, such as wetlands, soil health restoration, woodland and hedgerow restoration, green roofs, permeable pavements, and rain gardens can reduce flood and drought risks. ICSM can reduce runoff and peak flows of stormwater, mitigating the effects of flooding, and enhance the infiltration and retention of water, therefore increasing the resilience to droughts.
Enhanced biodiversity and ecosystem health: This approach can protect and restore the natural assets and functions of the catchment: forests, grasslands, riparian zones, and aquatic habitats. ICSM supports the restoration of biodiversity and ecosystem health, which in turn provide essential services, including carbon capture, and benefiting human well-being.
Increased social and economic opportunities: ICSM engages and empowers local communities and stakeholders. It can foster social inclusion, participation, and collaboration, as well as create new opportunities for livelihoods, education, recreation, and protect cultural values. The approach can generate economic benefits by reducing the costs of water treatment, infrastructure maintenance, and disaster response, and by enhancing the productivity and value of water-related sectors, such as agriculture, tourism, and energy.
Providing sustainable opportunities through a holistic approach: ICSM can reduce risk and realise opportunities from increased understanding of the catchment into its supply and value chains.
A holistic approach to water management enables us to truly value our natural world, both for environmental services and social benefits. Through collaborative and transparent approaches, companies can realise opportunities to reduce material risks, determine a sustainable business model, and develop a nature-positive direction for business continuity.
The inherent place-based planning that ICSM offers business increases internal and external stakeholder communication. It enables Monitoring, Reporting and Verification, both mandatory and voluntary, ensuring transparency and success of environmental and social strategies.
A holistic approach, encouraging sustainability, and facilitating stakeholder engagement, Integrated Catchment Systems offers a comprehensive solution to the global environmental and economic challenges we face.
Stantec has recently joined other businesses and eNGOs as a signature of the Catchment Management Declaration. The signatories take a collaborative approach to managing water and natural capital resources to overcome the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities.
