Nature-based solutions are used as the first choice to address wider environmental issues, such as flooding, climate change and pollution.
Nature gives us what we need to survive. The priority is to use nature as the solution when responding to a range of environmental and social issues, so that we invest in nature rather than infrastructure which in turn will help ensure a more abundant, diverse and connected natural environment. 

Nature-based solutions are actions which sustainably use nature to provide environmental or societal benefits and ecosystem services, while also helping enhance or restore the natural assets and ecosystems.  

Working with nature and natural processes and not against it, must become a key part of delivering on issues that widely affect communities in Dorset such as flooding, water quality, carbon storage and extreme temperatures. 

Nature recovery in action

Wessex Water has implemented nature-based solutions in Dorset, particularly in the Poole Harbour Catchment, to reduce levels of nitrate leaching into the groundwater to protect public water supplies. This work has focused on reducing agricultural runoff and improving water quality in the Poole Harbour area. Wessex Water worked with farmers to promote natural practices like planting buffer strips, encouraging the use of cover crops to reduce bare ground over the winter and providing advice to land managers on options available.
 
Through this approach they have collaboratively reduced nitrate leaching by over 60 tonnes of nitrogen in 2022 to 2023, and since 2020 delivered over 80 hectares of habitat improvements. 

Along the River Stour they are restoring natural riverbanks and floodplains which enhance the river’s ability to manage floods while also creating habitats for fish, birds and other species. This has included the use of riparian buffers and wetlands to capture phosphorus rich soil runoff from entering the Stour and its tributaries. These wetlands and woodlands provide important habitats for wildlife, help reduce nutrient pollution, and help to manage flood risks by absorbing excess rainwater. 
A green landscape of leaky dam near Shaftesbury. Featuring a river with restored natural riverbanks and floodplains.

Potential activities

See what activities people can carry out to help achieve this priority. These activities are a guide and are not exhaustive, as there are many small activities involved in habitat management and restoring ecosystems. 

The activities and Dorset’s nature recovery maps provide a starting point, but additional land management and ecological advice will often be needed to support activities on individual sites.