Future Fens: Integrated Adaptation Taskforce

We are committed to driving resilience to climate change in our region, with collaboration and systems thinking at the heart of our planning and investment. Formally launched in 2021 at COP26, the Future Fens Integrated Adaptation Taskforce is regarded as a national exemplar for landscape-scale integrated water management and resilience planning. This strategic partnership continues at pace, determining the actions that partners involved in managing water across the landscape can jointly take to secure a vibrant future for the Fens. Our overall vision has the potential to drive large economic, environmental, and social benefits which will be felt right across the East of England.

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The challenge

The Fens is avital hub for food production and home to diverse communities, but one of the UK’s most exposed areas to climate change. As the UK’s largest coastal lowland and at the frontline of rising sea levels, there is a growing risk of severe tidal flooding. Additionally, this region, spanning three counties in the East of England, is also the driest part of the country, with water shortages a real and increasing risk, particularly during the summer months.

Half of the UK’s most fertile agricultural land is located in the Fens, providing a fifth of the nation’s crops and a third of its vegetables. If lost to climate change, the UK would become very reliant on imported foods.

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Our climate change adaptation

To tackle the climate change challenges faced by the Fens, the Future Fens: Integrated Adaptation Taskforce is a collaboration led by sponsor bodies Anglian Water, Water Resources East, the Environment Agency, and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, along with more than 40 regional partners.

The initiative deploys holistic systems thinking to manage water resources in a better and more joined-up way. It aims to ensure the Fens can adapt successfully to the consequences of climate change and unlock a wealth of new opportunities for the environment and communities, while supporting the UK’s net zero carbon goals.

It combines flood risk management, including upgrading coastal defences, barriers and barrages, with new open water transfers and reservoirs serving multiple sectors. Together, these investments will unlock economic growth, new housing developments and improved transport links, as well as benefitting nature and tourism. Two new, multi-sector reservoirs sit at the heart of the overall strategy and will provide additional resilience for public water supplies, farmers and the food industry, and improve the water environment.

Downstream flood barriers or barrages will protect growth areas in the Fens, enabling key local infrastructure projects such as a rail connection from Wisbech to Cambridge, and the dualling of the A47, a National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) Strategy and it will be a key element of the proposed UNESCO Fens Biosphere designation.

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Leading the way

In November2021 Anglian Water was invited to co-lead the water theme at the first ever Resilience Hub at COP26. We showcased the Future Fens: Integrated Adaptation initiative and taskforce as an exemplar of best practice on adaptation and resilience. The Taskforce announced a commitment to join the UN Race to Resilience in partnership with the Living Deltas Hub, its partner at the event, to share knowledge and best practice on adaptation and resilience with other low-lying coastal deltas around the globe which are dealing with the effects of climate change. More recently, we contributed to the Fens Climate Change Risk Assessment, which examines how climate change is impacting the Fens.

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"We've long been preparing for climate change impacts, particularly in the Fens, which hosts some of the UK’s most vital agricultural land. This includes work on a strategic interconnecting pipeline and plans for a new reservoir. Securing climate resilience in the Fens demands collaboration across local authorities, businesses, community groups, and regulators, highlighting the importance of the partnership. We hope this report serves as a rallying call to unite partners and ensure a thriving future for the region." - Dr Robin Price, Director of Quality and Environment