WRAP and Nature Recovery Project have joined forces to address global water security in key food producing areas.
Nature Recovery Project has invested £1.14 million to support and accelerate essential work already underway in the UK, South Africa, Kenya, Spain and Peru through the Water Roadmap, which is managed by WRAP under the UK Food and Drink Pact.
The funding will provide long-term support over the next four years to a number of existing collective action projects operating through WRAP’s Water Roadmap in areas that provide large amounts of the UK’s fresh food. These include key agricultural regions in Africa, Peru, Spain and the UK itself. The projects bring water stewardship into supply chains and deliver nature-based solutions to improve water quality and availability, and support biodiversity, soil health and carbon storage through a range of local innovative regenerative agriculture projects. A grant fund will be established offering the opportunity for the projects to apply for additional funding to support their work.
The funding will also help expand WRAP’s Water Roadmap work into additional food producing regions that suffer similar issues within their water catchments, increasing the scope and impact of the Water Roadmap, and injecting crucial funding on the ground.
James Berry, Head of Strategy Nature Recovery Project said: “Water security is the foundation of sustainable agriculture and ecosystem health. As part of our mission to restore nature and regenerate landscapes, TNRP is proud to support WRAP’s Water Roadmap an initiative that directly addresses critical water challenges. WRAP’s international network, including UK Food and Drink Pact, unites nearly 200 organizations dedicated to sustainability in food production. This partnership will serve as an exemplar for these organizations, demonstrating how collaborative action can be replicated in other regions to accelerate thriving ecosystems and resilient water resources.”
WRAP CEO Harriet Lamb said: “This vitally-needed injection of funding will enable the projects to deepen their impact through more nature-based solutions from planting native trees to using natural groundcover to retain water.”
In the UK, an estimated 47% of vegetables and 84% of fruit is imported from overseas, often from water-scarce and drought-prone regions, while global agriculture accounts for 70% of all water use. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) predicts that by 2030, global demand for water will double while the United Nations predicts an overall 40% water shortfall. The Environment Agency warns that the UK faces serious water shortages if no action is taken.
