For example, mobilisation of civil society and its involvement in citizen science and the challenging of policies and plans is directly relevant to Article 14 – public participation – under the European Commission’s Water Framework Directive (WFD). Similarly, engagement with farmers to embed a more resource efficient and sustainable management of agricultural land has direct relevance to the Nitrates and Bathing Waters Directives. A collaborative approach is also key to the delivery of Natural Flood Risk Management schemes that play an important role in delivering the goals of the Floods Directive.

CaBA represents a key mechanism for the delivery of the UK Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan  and is directly related to several of the targets of the Plan. Partnerships working to embed a more strategic, catchment-wide approach to managing water resources (backed by the CaBA Abstraction Working Group), for example, directly support the targets of clean and plentiful water and climate change adaptation, whilst improved soil management through partnership engagement with farmers is a key element of the drive towards a more sustainable and efficient use of our natural resources.

The work that CaBA Partnerships undertake to control and eradicate invasive non-native species is an important component in the strategy to enhance our biosecurity whilst their delivery of green-blue infrastructure is enhancing engagement with the natural environment, improving health and well being within local communities.

Read more about Defra’s Policy Framework behind the Catchment Based Approach