New Delhi: The UK government has established the Rural Flood Resilience Partnership, which unites organisations representing government agencies, trade associations, rural communities and businesses to tackle a joint challenge with joint solutions. The Partnership has been established to improve collaboration, deepen understanding of vulnerabilities, and support rural communities and agricultural businesses in building their resilience to present and future flood risks and coastal erosion, a UK government release stated.
The partnership will work to improve the resilience of rural communities and agricultural businesses to the changing climate by developing new solutions and improving the evidence base behind decision-making. This will include 21 projects covering areas such as managing the evidence base for decision-making, ensuring communities, farmers and landowners have access to quality advice and support, and engaging rural communities in flood resilience.
James Blake, Chair of Trustees Action with Communities in Rural England, stressed the importance of involving all members of rural communities, not just those involved in land management and agriculture, in shaping plans to address climate change. “As one of the founding members of this partnership, we look forward to drawing on the experience and reach of ACRE members to build the capacity of rural communities to come together and consider what can be done based on local circumstances in response to this most pressing global issue.,” he added.