Blogs – Page 9 – Yorkshire Integrated Catchment Solutions Programme (iCASP)

Eyeing up our rivers

21st May 20211st June 2018 by geosbal

Photo courtesy: Sheila Palmer, University of Leeds

The latest iCASP Project, The Derwent Data Finder, will explore whether a collaborative monitoring system could help the Environment Agency to reduce costs and to gather more information. The Environment Agency currently spends 60 million pounds a year gathering information on the state of the water environment to meet regulatory requirements.

However, many other organisations, including iCASP partners and universities, also collect relevant data which if shared might fill existing knowledge gaps and prevent duplication.

Managing land more beneficially

21st May 202125th May 2018 by geosbal

Leaving the EU gives the UK an opportunity to rethink farm subsidies. The government is currently exploring how to incentivise farmers and land owners to improve water quality, soil health and flood protection. This is where iCASP can help. The Agri-Land Management for Public Goods Delivery Project is going to review and consolidate the evidence on land management interventions which generate a wide range of public goods.

The Review will focus on a selection of land management activities currently undertaken in the River Ouse drainage basin area of Yorkshire, including those supported through Countryside Stewardship.

A Yorkshire voice in policy development

21st May 202128th March 2018 by geosbal

Two Yorkshire MPs are keen to hear more from iCASP Partners who are achieving collaborative land management to combat climate change and flooding.

MPs and event organisers at Howe Syke Farm, Bishopdale. Photo Credit: Malcolm Warne

Getting to grips with natural flood management

21st May 202120th February 2018 by geosbal

Natural flood management pilot schemes in Yorkshire are the focus of an iCASP project to develop best practice for modelling and monitoring. Defra’s 25 year Environment Plan highlights the important role that natural flood management techniques can play in flood risk management. The Yorkshire work will therefore contribute valuable learning for the rest of the UK. The iCASP project will help to develop best practice and show how natural flood management can deliver a range of benefits in addition to flood protection.

Maximising pay-back from peat restoration

21st May 20217th February 2018 by geosbal

Efforts to restore Yorkshire’s vast peat bogs will soon be getting a welcome boost, thanks to a new project being developed by the Yorkshire Integrated Catchment Solutions Programme (iCASP).

The Yorkshire Peat Partnership and Moors for the Future Partnership will be working with the Universities of Leeds, Manchester and Durham to develop tools that people can use when they consider how to get the most value from restoring a bog even as the climate changes.

The project team will develop a user-friendly and updated version of a modelling tool called DigiBog. They will also create a ‘menu of methods’ for valuing the benefits of peatland restoration. This will help restoration practitioners plan their programmes to generate maximum social benefit.