South West England, UK: Water Roadmap Collective Action Project

The challenges in South West England’s waters

At the heart of South West England and its local communities lies a thriving agricultural sector known for its dairy and livestock production. But the same rivers and catchments that are used not only for farming, but household sustenance and recreation, are facing widespread threats.

Water quality in the South West has declined due to a combination of poor soil quality, nutrient losses from farmland and the historic loss of natural water buffers like wetlands and woodlands. The region is also facing growing challenges with water scarcity, as droughts become more frequent and demand for water increases. Restoring the region’s water systems and securing the future of farming depends on collaborative coordinated action. Which is what our Collective Action Project in South West England is here to do.

What we’re doing to protect water in South West England

Delivered in collaboration with our partner Westcountry Rivers Trust, this Water Roadmap project is all about joined-up action with farmers and food businesses. We’re focusing on five key areas in the South West to improve water quality, build resilience to water scarcity, and restore biodiversity:  

• Strengthening standards and developing shared guidance by working with businesses to integrate water stewardship into farm assurance schemes and addressing gaps in existing approaches through resources such as a Water Resilience Charter
• Bringing the right people to act together through regional hubs, such as expanding the Tamar Water Stewardship Board that is facilitated by Westcountry Rivers Trust, to collaborate and share knowledge
• Delivering on-the-ground interventions such as creating new wetlands and ponds, stabilising riverbanks and water quality through riparian buffer planting, and cover cropping trials to keep soils healthy and water clean
• Influencing for impact and advocating for sustainable water management by sharing insights to support policy development, promoting nature-based solutions and offering best practice guidance  
• Empowering and engaging farmers by developing plans for water resilience on farms, and helping unlock funding to adopt these practices.

Whether your business sources from or works in the South West, you have a responsibility and opportunity to restore and protect its water.

You don’t have to go it alone – join the Water Roadmap to access guidance and help support this important project.

Our impact in South West England so far

Together with our partners, we’ve set the stage for collaborative water stewardship in one of the UK’s most important agricultural regions. This project has brought together businesses to share priorities and lay the groundwork for long-term improvements to water quality, resilience and nature restoration in the South West.

Progress is only possible thanks to the support of Water Roadmap members and partners who are helping fund on-the-ground delivery and promoting sustainable water management in their supply chains.

 Scaling up: action still needed

South West England’s watercourses should be a thriving lifeline for nature, food production and local communities. Now is the time to restore it. We need more businesses that source from or work in South West England to step up, champion water stewardship across their supply chains, and fund the next phase of this critical work.

By joining the Water Roadmap, your participation will drive:

1. Engagement with farmers and businesses across the region
2. Scaled on-farm interventions and training on water use and efficiency, especially in dairy and red meat supply chains
3. Success stories and solutions on what effective water stewardship looks like in practice
4. Learnings and solutions that can be implemented in other current and future Water Roadmap projects.