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Planning for the future

Understanding climate change, new technology and research. We need all of these to help us plan how we manage future flooding.

Whether it's finding the best way to protect a flood-vulnerable area without damaging the local environment, or constructing defences to directly protect you, we are always working to protect more people and properties from flooding.

Investing for the future

The latest climate change predictions indicate that flooding is likely to increase in the future.  The reports Investing for the future: flood and coastal risk management in England - a long-term investment strategy and Future Flooding in Wales: flood defences set out the scale of the investment needed to meet this challenge over the next 25 years.

We expect flood risk to increase, with greatest change taking place in the second half of this century.  Preparation is crucial.  The long-term investment strategies will help decision makers set a course for action and decide what we, as a society, can afford to protect and the degree of risk we will accept.

Our reports use data from UKCP09, the latest climate change impact predictions from the UK Impacts Programme.  The evidence suggests a steady increase in investment is needed to maintain current levels of protection against increasing rates of sea level rise, coastal erosion and stormy weather.

Climate change and UKCP09

UKCP09 is the fifth generation of UK climate change scenarios, describing how the climate of the UK might change during the 21st century.  Making good use of UKCP09 means that better decisions can be made which are more sustainable in the long-term and potentially more cost effective.

Science research programme

To tackle the changes that climate change will bring and help us to manage the increasing risk of flooding we need to develop our knowledge in many areas: new advances in engineering, emerging patterns in the ecosystem, changes to our society and lifestyles, and the way our economies will develop. The outcomes of the flood and coastal defence research programme will all provide evidence to help in planning for the future.