Rising waters | Rooted solutions
From evidence to action: identifying priorities for nature-based solutions
With limited resources and many opportunities, how do we decide where to act? Ousewem's strategic catchment approach provides an evidence-led answer.
How do we decide where future effort, investment and nature-based solutions can make the greatest difference? Ousewem's strategic catchment approach helps answer this question, building on the project's modelling and evidence to support future planning, investment and partnership working.
Across the Swale, Ure, Nidd and Ouse (SUNO) catchments, there are many opportunities to work with natural processes to slow the flow of water, reduce flood risk and improve water quality.
But with limited funding and resources, how do we decide where to focus our efforts to achieve the greatest benefits?
Building on Ousewem's modelling programme, a strategic catchment approach was developed to identify where nature-based solutions may deliver the greatest benefits.
In a recent Ousewem article, we explored what happens after the evidence has been gathered. The next challenge is turning evidence into decisions. The strategic catchment approach provides a structured way to understand where nature-based solutions may deliver the greatest benefit and where future effort could be focused.
Why prioritisation matters
Catchments are complex systems. Actions taken in one location can influence how water moves through the landscape, but outcomes vary depending on local conditions.
Nature-based solutions such as woodland planting, improved soil management, hedgerows and floodplain reconnection, have the potential to contribute to flood-risk reduction and water-quality improvement. However, their benefits are not guaranteed and can vary considerably depending on the type, scale and location of interventions, highlighting the importance of understanding where nature-based solutions are most effective.
With many potential opportunities across the landscape, and limited resources available, identifying where interventions could deliver meaningful benefits is not always straightforward.
The strategic catchment approach provides an evidence-led way of identifying where further investigation and investment may deliver the greatest benefit.
Turning modelling into meaningful insights
Building on Ousewem's whole-system modelling, the approach brings together evidence on flood risk and water quality to identify where nature-based solutions may deliver multiple benefits.
By considering both objectives together, it helps identify catchments where interventions could deliver multiple benefits, rather than focusing on flood risk or water quality in isolation.
This wider perspective helps partners better understand the opportunities and trade-offs involved in planning future interventions.
From evidence to decision-making
Funding, land availability and delivery capacity are limited, making it increasingly important to understand where resources could have the greatest benefits.
A strategic approach to prioritisation enables organisations to move beyond individual opportunities towards a more coordinated programme of catchment management.
Evidence is only one part of decision-making. The approach should be used alongside local knowledge, site assessments and practical considerations such as landowner engagement, costs and feasibility when planning future interventions.
Building on Ousewem's legacy
The strategic catchment approach is one of Ousewem's key legacy outputs, ensuring that the project's knowledge, modelling and evidence continue to inform future decision-making beyond March 2027.
Ousewem's modelling has improved understanding of how nature-based solutions can contribute to flood resilience and water quality at catchment scale. The strategic catchment approach builds on that evidence, helping partners and decision-makers identify where future effort, investment and collaboration could have the greatest impact.
Understanding the potential of nature-based solutions is one part of the challenge. Knowing where to focus future effort, and how to turn evidence into action, is the next step.
Further reading
- What happens after the evidence?
- Yorkshire flood resilience analysis helping to shape future planning, funding and delivery
- Who decides and who pays for flood resilience?
- Governance, evidence and confidence in nature-based solutions
- Policy and partnerships: how decisions shape flood resilience
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