Summer flooding has affected householders, farmers and other businesses in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK for the second year in a row. The risk of flooding in Northern Ireland is set to increase with climate change - the Government's own figures suggests that 60,000 properties are at risk from flooding in Northern Ireland, with 14,000 in the Greater Belfast area alone – and the RSPB NI is calling for a more sustainable approach to flood management.
The Northern Ireland Government’s response to the Independent Flood Management Policy Review, a paper entitled ‘Living with Rivers and the Sea,’ sets out a vision for the delivery of flood management for the next 10 years. The approach proposed should create a sustainable future for flood management, with public bodies and landowners combining 'hard' engineering techniques, such as using concrete flood defences, with 'soft' engineering techniques such as restoring rivers, floodplains and native forests and managed coastal realignment. Many of these techniques slow the movement of rainwater off the land and into rivers, reducing the large surges of water we have experienced in recent summer rainstorms.
These new approaches to flood management can also provide important habitats for wildlife. Restored wetlands can help wetland birds like the lapwing and water-loving mammals like the otter. It can also improve the fortunes of our fish - recent research in the Czech Republic, Poland and England has demonstrated that natural river systems support many more fish species than modified channels.
Speaking on the flooding issue, RSPB NI Director Aidan Lonergan said:
“We cannot afford to ignore the problem any longer. It is time for us to re-evaluate our approach to flood management for the 21st century. The RSPB commends the proposal of the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Michele Gildernew MP MLA (who announced the government’s flood management vision) but it is crucial that these words are now put into action.
Farmers and other landowners must be supported and rewarded in managing their land to reduce flood risk for the people of Northern Ireland. Flooding laws, such as the Drainage Order, must be reviewed to incorporate new ways of reducing flood risk and give bodies like the Rivers Agency the powers to create sustainable flood management.
A more sustainable approach to flood management would replace the too-reactive approach to flood management now in place, to one that deals with environmental, social and economic factors. The RSPB intends to be on hand to offer advice and support as the flooding agenda develops, helping our Government to manage flooding for people and wildlife.”