Most NFM projects will require funding for the material and labour required to implement works on the ground. Large scale projects such as river restoration will also require funding for the necessary scoping and pre-works assessments and design and, in some cases, a payment to the landowner for the services provided and costs incurred. There are a number of potential sources of funding for these various components including the Scottish Rural Development Programme, Government agency funding such as peatland action and private funding such as carbon offset schemes. Local Authorities may also fund NFM measures, especially where it helps to deliver NFM actions outlined in their Local Flood Risk Management Plans or other statutory targets. This topic includes information on these potential funding sources, new funding calls or success stories on novel funding sources.
A practical handbook for farmers has recently been published by SRUC. The handbook is called "Natural Flood Management: A Farmer's Guide" and is available from the link below. The guide aims to give advice on NFM to landowners and farmers in Scotland. The handbook contains advice on measures such as riparian planting, sediment traps and wetland creation. It also contains case study examples.
The World Bank have published a report on Nature-Based Solutions for Disaster Risk Management. More on this report and background to the work can be found at the link below.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have recently published a book entitled "Engineering With Nature: An Atlas". The Atlas showcases 56 international projects, which includes one Scottish case study (the Bowmont Catchment). The atlas is organised into eight sections (Beaches and Dunes, Wetlands, Islands, Reefs, Riverine Systems, Levee setbacks and floodplains, use of vegetation and natural materials and environment enhancements of infrastructure).
A new video has been released outlining the role of the Eddleston Water project in the international Interreg Building with Nature project. For further details on the Eddleston water project please visit the case study page within the NFM network Scotland site. The project is funded by the Scottish Government and the European Union's Interreg North Sea Region Programme. The video can be viewed at the bottom of this page.
The West Cumbria Rivers Trust have recently published a new handbook called "Natural Flood Management Handbook: a practical guide for farmers". The book was funded by West Cumbria Rivers Trust, Environment Agency, Newground and Heritage Lottery Fund. The guide has been developed to offer simple, clear information on NFM measures for landowners and farmers in NW England.
Stroneslaney Farm Riparian Tree Planting Projects main aim was to boost riparian trees along the River Balvaig within the floodplain. Currently, the river lacks riparian tree cover which is suspected to be due to deer populations and livestock limiting natural regeneration in the area. This means that there is a lack of new trees growing to fill the gaps of older trees coming to the end of their life along the river.
The Building with Nature (BwN) project (funded by EU Interreg) has produced a short video to explain the project. The Scottish Government, SEPA and Tweed Forum are partners on the project and are focused on the 'catchments' workpackage (the Eddleston catchment is a case study site in the project).
The Environment Agency, CIRIA and other partners are hoping to develop technical guidance on specific Natural Flood Management measures. To begin with they have created a short scoping survey. This is your opportunity to contribute to this survey.
The survey is accessible via the link below and will close towards the end of June.
In 2010 a large scale dune restoration project was completed at West Sands Beach, St Andrews. Due to the location of the site in the SAC, it’s designation within an SSSI and Natura 2000 site; all work had to ensure conservation objectives were met. Preliminary work to determine and map the sediment patterns and grain size distributions within the dunes and intertidal area was crucial to the long term viability and success of the project. A “donor” site was identified that could withstand periodic sediment extraction without suffering long term consequences.