Yet a threat is looming for Norfolk \u2013 it’s one of the driest counties in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Water supplies under stress<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nWhen the rain does come in Norfolk, it\u2019s prone to flooding. As the natural landscape has been modified over the years to maximise flood protection, its rivers and wetlands now face the threat of drought. The local water supply is increasingly stretched by the irrigation demands of its farms \u2013 a growing local population only adds to the strain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, the jaws of climate change are closing. With heat warnings becoming the norm, the Environment Agency is capping licences <\/a>, limiting the amount of water that water companies can use. The government is warning that England\u2019s public water supply could be short by five billion litres a day <\/a> by 2055. <\/p>\n\n\n\nIn Norfolk, that threat is more immediate. Water-scarcity risks <\/a> are constraining economic activity, and unless these risks are addressed, the county can expect increasingly harsh restrictions on housing <\/a>, farming and business.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNature-based solutions at the forefront<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThe good news is that a wellspring of innovation is bubbling up to tackle this challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Norfolk Water Strategy Programme <\/a> (NWSP) is a partnership between The Nature Conservancy <\/a> (TNC), Norfolk County Council, Anglian Water and Water Resources East <\/a>. The Programme’s team work with local farmers to trial nature-based solutions, boosting biodiversity<\/a> on their land and restoring its natural powers to retain water. <\/p>\n\n\n\nFor example, one method being employed to help waterways to reduce and slow runoff is creating leaky ponds and buffer strips and improving soil management. TNC\u2019s modelling shows that nature-based solutions could increase low flows in Norfolk by as much as 10 percent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBuilding a reservoir or desalination plant will help maintain the public water supply, but it will do nothing to protect the river from the extreme droughts we\u2019re seeing more often,\u201d says Rob Cunningham, TNC\u2019s Resilient Watershed Programme director for Europe. \u201cNature-based solutions that increase the storage in the aquifer to feed the river are the only way to change that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Lush](\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/10\/lush-green-waterway-in-UK-inline.jpg?w=1024\")
Photo: Emli Bendixen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nCultivating new revenue<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThe benefits of NWSP\u2019s approach have been brilliantly demonstrated by its pilot scheme, the Wendling Beck Project <\/a>. In collaboration with local farmers, it showcases another crucial facet of the work: exploring how nature-based solutions can bring farmers much-needed income.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFor Glenn Anderson, a fifth-generation farmer and strategy lead at Wendling Beck, that meant returning his arable land back to its original grassland state, and working with TNC to examine options like nutrient mitigation, biodiversity net gain (BNG), regenerative horticulture and ecotourism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe only way to solve the big societal issues is to make them part of an economic story,\u201d says Anderson. \u201cThese programmes show how to deliver nature-based solutions at scale through collaboration, using a blended finance mechanism of private funds and government support.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through the NWSP, Norfolk now has the chance to become an international flag-bearer for innovative water management, at a time when the link between nature, climate and a healthy economy is becoming much more widely accepted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Research by the World Economic Forum shows that more than half of the world\u2019s GDP <\/a> \u2013 approximately US$44 trillion \u2013 is dependent to some degree on nature. UK policy is starting to reflect that. Biodiversity net gain <\/a>, a legal requirement introduced in 2024, put the onus on housing developers to improve biodiversity where they\u2019re building; nutrient neutrality <\/a> obliges them to mitigate waste water. Both measures incorporate a credit system at nearby biodiversity sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe NWSP states that every \u00a31 invested in nature could give a return of \u00a36.70 <\/a>, through improved water quality and quantity, reclaimed biodiversity, greater levels of carbon in the soil and higher employment \u2013 plus the fact that it makes businesses in the area more viable long-term. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Four](\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/10\/nature-conservancy-partnership-team-in-field-inline.jpg?w=1024\")
From left to right: Glenn Andersen, farmer and founder of Wendling Beck; Andrew Craig, head of Sustainability, RBC Europe; Desiree Clarke-Noble, global head, Sustainability & Impact, RBC Capital Markets; Tom Blathwayt, Sustainability Group director for RBC\u2019s European businesses.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nFrom ideas to impact<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nNone of this happens without effective money management. RBC\u2019s European businesses are supporting TNC through the NWSP\u2019s Norfolk Water Fund, which launched in Feb. 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe’re here to support TNC in testing and scaling innovative approaches to protecting and restoring nature in financially sustainable ways,\u201d says Tom Blathwayt, Sustainability Group director for RBC\u2019s European businesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bank is backing the NWSP\u2019s expanding pipeline of pilots and offering the benefit of its wealth management expertise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHaving RBC\u2019s support to build these projects will be invaluable,\u201d says Cunningham. \u201cWe can do great things with the donations, but we can also call on its investment knowledge. Nature markets <\/a> [systems where natural goods, such as agricultural products; services, such as carbon sequestration; and financial products that directly reflect ecosystem values or risks, such as biodiversity loss insurance] may land us upfront payments, but will also require management for 30 or 40 years. RBC can help us explore the options for low-risk, ethical investments to mitigate the impact of inflation.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Runoff](\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/10\/Wendling-Beck-nature-recovery-project-Norfolk-UK-inline.jpg?w=1024\")
Runoff Attenuation Feature (RAF), experimental design to capture run-off from impeded land and recharge ground water. Photo: Evie Johnstone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nNature above all else<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In Norfolk, that threat is more immediate. Water-scarcity risks <\/a> are constraining economic activity, and unless these risks are addressed, the county can expect increasingly harsh restrictions on housing <\/a>, farming and business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The good news is that a wellspring of innovation is bubbling up to tackle this challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Norfolk Water Strategy Programme <\/a> (NWSP) is a partnership between The Nature Conservancy <\/a> (TNC), Norfolk County Council, Anglian Water and Water Resources East <\/a>. The Programme’s team work with local farmers to trial nature-based solutions, boosting biodiversity<\/a> on their land and restoring its natural powers to retain water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, one method being employed to help waterways to reduce and slow runoff is creating leaky ponds and buffer strips and improving soil management. TNC\u2019s modelling shows that nature-based solutions could increase low flows in Norfolk by as much as 10 percent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBuilding a reservoir or desalination plant will help maintain the public water supply, but it will do nothing to protect the river from the extreme droughts we\u2019re seeing more often,\u201d says Rob Cunningham, TNC\u2019s Resilient Watershed Programme director for Europe. \u201cNature-based solutions that increase the storage in the aquifer to feed the river are the only way to change that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The benefits of NWSP\u2019s approach have been brilliantly demonstrated by its pilot scheme, the Wendling Beck Project <\/a>. In collaboration with local farmers, it showcases another crucial facet of the work: exploring how nature-based solutions can bring farmers much-needed income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Glenn Anderson, a fifth-generation farmer and strategy lead at Wendling Beck, that meant returning his arable land back to its original grassland state, and working with TNC to examine options like nutrient mitigation, biodiversity net gain (BNG), regenerative horticulture and ecotourism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe only way to solve the big societal issues is to make them part of an economic story,\u201d says Anderson. \u201cThese programmes show how to deliver nature-based solutions at scale through collaboration, using a blended finance mechanism of private funds and government support.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Through the NWSP, Norfolk now has the chance to become an international flag-bearer for innovative water management, at a time when the link between nature, climate and a healthy economy is becoming much more widely accepted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Research by the World Economic Forum shows that more than half of the world\u2019s GDP <\/a> \u2013 approximately US$44 trillion \u2013 is dependent to some degree on nature. UK policy is starting to reflect that. Biodiversity net gain <\/a>, a legal requirement introduced in 2024, put the onus on housing developers to improve biodiversity where they\u2019re building; nutrient neutrality <\/a> obliges them to mitigate waste water. Both measures incorporate a credit system at nearby biodiversity sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The NWSP states that every \u00a31 invested in nature could give a return of \u00a36.70 <\/a>, through improved water quality and quantity, reclaimed biodiversity, greater levels of carbon in the soil and higher employment \u2013 plus the fact that it makes businesses in the area more viable long-term. <\/p>\n\n\n\n None of this happens without effective money management. RBC\u2019s European businesses are supporting TNC through the NWSP\u2019s Norfolk Water Fund, which launched in Feb. 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe’re here to support TNC in testing and scaling innovative approaches to protecting and restoring nature in financially sustainable ways,\u201d says Tom Blathwayt, Sustainability Group director for RBC\u2019s European businesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The bank is backing the NWSP\u2019s expanding pipeline of pilots and offering the benefit of its wealth management expertise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHaving RBC\u2019s support to build these projects will be invaluable,\u201d says Cunningham. \u201cWe can do great things with the donations, but we can also call on its investment knowledge. Nature markets <\/a> [systems where natural goods, such as agricultural products; services, such as carbon sequestration; and financial products that directly reflect ecosystem values or risks, such as biodiversity loss insurance] may land us upfront payments, but will also require management for 30 or 40 years. RBC can help us explore the options for low-risk, ethical investments to mitigate the impact of inflation.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\nNature-based solutions at the forefront<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Cultivating new revenue<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
From ideas to impact<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Nature above all else<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n