New Cop30 report warns of importance of soil health in preventing flooding
Soil health is now “make-or-break” to help protect Yorkshire’s farmers from flooding and unpredictable weather, new research presented at Cop30 has found.
A new report from campaigners Save Soil, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and think tank Aroura has found topsoil is one of the world’s forgotten climate solutions, storing 45 per cent more carbon than previously thought.
But the report, presented at the Cop30 climate summit in Brazil, found soil degradation continues to undermine food security and biodiversity across the globe.
It also emphasised the importance of soil health in managing excess water and reducing flood risk.
“Soil health is becoming a make-or-break factor in future-proofing farm businesses,” Praveena Sridhar, chief technical officer of Save Soil, said.
“Healthy soils absorb and hold far more water, which can reduce local flood risk and help crops and grasslands withstand increasingly unpredictable weather.
“For a region like Yorkshire, that has faced repeated flooding, this is an advantage farmers can directly benefit from.
“The findings in this new Soil Security Report show that even small improvements in soil condition can increase fertility, improve water management and reduce reliance on costly inputs.
“For Yorkshire farmers, that could mean lowered costs and greater stability in challenging seasons.”
Ms Sridhar said the report shows how small investments in soil health by farmers can ensure they are “productive, profitable and resilient for decades to come”.
“If we truly revitalise soil security, we support farmers and protect them from climate shocks,” she added.
“Seeing soil through a holistic, human lens isn’t an option - it’s essential for safeguarding the future of farming - in Yorkshire, the wider UK and globally.”
This comes as Storm Claudia wreaked havoc across the UK, causing flooding in South and North Yorkshire, as well as serious damage in Wales.
Floods Minister Emma Hardy spoke to The Yorkshire Post from the Calderdale Flooding Summit this week, and said she was going to take the collaborative process from West Yorkshire to the rest of the country.
The Calder Valley suffered devastating floods from Storm Eva at Christmas in 2015, with communities left traumatised with around £150m in damage.
But the area has responded, with councils, the Environment Agency and water companies coming together to try to prevent such tragic scenes happening again.
“This is an excellent example of how people have come together to become greater than the sum of their parts,” Ms Hardy said.
“It’s the only example in the country of a hybrid approach, where you have both natural flood management alongside the hard defences to create a holistic solution to the flooding that has been faced in this region.”
She also highlighted Calderdale’s buddy system where everyone is responsible for alerting a neighbour, friend or family about flood warnings.
“We’re looking at the model we have here and looking at creating that on a national scale with the Flood Resilience Task Force,” she added.
Ms Hardy claimed that since coming into power, Labour has made a record investment in flood defences, with £51m going towards 15 West Yorkshire projects to better protect more than 1,500 properties.