Climate Change
Coping with sea level rise and climate change
The Broads has always been a changing landscape, responding to the interaction between people, the environment and the climate. Its easterly, low-lying wetland landscape and coastal natural means that the Broads is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and sea level rise.
The challenges ahead
The biggest risk comes from the changes in sea level, which are happening anyway, with global warming exacerbating the issue. Higher sea levels hold back water trying to drain from the rivers which can cause flooding, and if a combination of weather and high tides causes a surge, water pushes up the rivers putting flood defences under great threat. The high sea levels also put pressure on the coastal defences and over-toping may happen. The forces involved can also test the strength of the combined natural and hard defences keeping the sea at bay and a breach and inundation may be possible.
Other climatic changes could impact on the Broads. The higher sea levels bring salt water further up the rivers changing the balance between fresh and brackish water. The predicted drier summers may be good for tourism but could stress agricultural production or lower water levels in the grazing marshes and fens and harm the ecology. Water levels in the rivers and broads may even start being affected. Severe storms and more intense rainfall brings the threat of flooding from rainwater or damage to infrastructure. Differing patterns of wetting and drying could impact on building foundations. There are opportunities as well as threats. More frost free days could be a boost to agriculture and slight increases in temperature could extend the vacation season.
Carbon audit and reduction plan
With climate change threatening the special qualities of the Broads the Broads Authority is keen to encourage people to change their behaviour now to help minimise the adverse impacts. The Authority commissioned a carbon audit and reduction plan to take a snap-shot of the emissions from their own operations, from the activities associated with a National Park and put it in the context of all emissions from the area.
The Audit was directed at getting an informed view of the relationship between emissions and an indication of what mitigation (action to change the level of emissions and so minimise climate change) it would be important to concentrate on. It did not seek to provide exact answers and so the bringing together of national data related (cut) to the local level, and the extrapolation of very localised data to a wider geographic patch was possible.
The scoping study for the audit identified three basic sections which were refined for the full audit to be:
a) An audit of the Authority’s own operations
b) A consideration of the activities in the wider geographic area which the Broads Authority is likely to have greatest influence on through its work
c) The context of all the emissions in the wider area to understand the scale of action required.
The Audit will guide the action in reducing the Authority’s own emissions – by travelling and purchasing in a more sustainable manner - as well as influencing others in the area. For example, the Broads Authority is working very closely with the Broads Tourism Forum to really promote sustainable tourism and is using money from Europe through an Interreg project to provide advice and active support.
Adaptation
Even with societal changes, some climate change is inevitable and the Broads Authority is looking at how the Broads can adapt in a way that retains its special qualities and boosts the quality of life. To help that process the Authority has formed a high level Climate Change Adaptation Panel inviting representatives from the Environment Agency, Natural England, local authorities, the National Farmers Union and UEA to work together on a common approach. The Panel is leading a coordinated approach to forming an adaptation plan for the Broads – an approach that they feel must involve those with an interest in the Broads as resident, visitor or user. Panel meeting notes may be viewed here.
The Authority strongly supports the current policy of retaining robust coastal defences that hold the current line and actively works alongside the Broads Flood Alleviation Project to improve and maintain river flood protection. It is recognised however that at the same time effort must be put into developing the details of adaptation as the technical and financial challenges of maintaining those defences into the future will continue to increase and if the Broads is to remain a special place for wildlife and people, a planned approach is essential.
Graph - Robert Bellamy, Norfolk Climate Change Partnership.
The Government has invited National Parks to produce an adaptation plan alongside those bodies, like utility companies and governmental agencies, which have to produce one. The Broads Authority has agreed to try and produce an adaptation plan alongside the current review of the Broads Plan. Information about the long-term future for the Broads in response to climate change is outlined in section 3 of the draft Broads Plan.
The Climate Change Adaptation Panel feel that it is vital for the development of the details of the plan to be an open and transparent process incorporating the range of perspectives of those that live, work and visit the area. The Panel are in the process of drawing up an outline structure for the Plan and proposing a way of involving and communicating with interested parties. This will then be shared with the Broads Forum and others to refine and gain suitable support.
