Research Funding cycle: 2016-21

There is increasing interest in exploring the health and well-being impacts of water in the environment (blue health), including the potential of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SUDS) to enhance amenity for residents. Blue health research is relatively new, and the purpose of this project was to review the literature and draw together any research evidence about the health impacts of SUDS.

Qualitative studies on health and social impacts of flooding show that flood disasters, and associated experiences, can have severe and long-lasting social and health impacts, with emotional and psychological impacts often being more severe and longer lasting (e.g. 4 years) than physical damage to property, lives and health. The effects can include shock and disbelief, uncertainty, grief and loss, emotional exhaustion, loss of hope and meaning, General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS), Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), alarm, resistance and exhaustion.

This research reviews the evidence base for both positive and negative relationships between water in the landscape, health and well-being (termed blue health). Water is important for human health, both physiologically and psychologically; however, much of the research on blue health has focused on pathogenic associations between water and health i.e. the effects of environmental toxicology and poor water quality on disease and illness.

This project, carried out between April 2011 and December 2012, contributed to our understanding by raising stakeholder awareness of the state of knowledge of the role of water in relation to well-being (e.g. a cause of stress, or a factor influencing psychological restoration); collating the state-of-art in evidence of the role of water in relation to well-being; and engaging with stakeholders to identify links in relation to water and well-being.

The work was carried out by a team from the James Hutton Institute and Heriot Watt University.

Scotland’s rivers, coasts and seas provide a critical resource for a range of human activities. In the past, links between human activities and the environment have been poorly managed, leading to a legacy of degradation. Global changes are giving rise to a range of new challenges such as increased flooding from sea level rise and storminess and proliferation of invasive or non-native species. Catchments are inextricably linked to coasts by the flow of materials, energy, nutrients and species through the medium of water.

In the last decade, catchment management has seen a wealth of new “top-down” legislation and policy initiatives, such as the EU Water Framework Directive, to take forward emerging demands for better integration and delivery of multiple benefits for society and the environment at the catchment scale. In parallel, there has been a growth of “bottom up” initiatives, some of these now representing advanced integrated approaches to Integrated Catchment Management (ICM), for example, Tweed Forum, the West Country Rivers Trust and the Association of Rivers Trusts.

Fully integrated catchment management planning Catchment Advice Template and Exchange II (CATCH-II). This project established a common understanding of the activities and objectives of integrated catchment management (ICM) projects and policy-makers/implementers in Scotland. It used the knowledge and experience of established ICM projects to identify opportunities and challenges to delivering Scotland’s policy commitments to water management at the catchment-level.

The project carried out between April 2011 and August 2012 contributes to our understanding of coastal flooding in Scotland. A practitioners' guidance document was produced as part of the project. The purpose of this guidance is to provide the most up-to-date knowledge and information relating to coastal flooding in Scotland ensuring that the information in this field is based on the best available scientific evidence.

The project raises awareness of fundamental concepts in fluvial geomorphology and its importance in determining the habitat that river ecosystems rely on and its role in natural flood management (NFM). The work also aimed to promote best practice for managing and restoring the geomorphology of rivers. The project was completed by a team from the James Hutton Institute and the University of Stirling.

The project contributes to the baseline knowledge related to natural flood management (NFM). It seeks to provide evidence for and support implementation of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009. The project was completed by a team from JHI and Heriot Watt University.