Blue-Green Infrastructure in Urban Areas: UKCEH Contributions to the Overseas Territories Trade & Investment Dialogue

Blue-Green Infrastructure in Urban Areas: UKCEH Contributions to the Overseas Territories Trade & Investment Dialogue

Presented as part of a trade and investment study visit co-convened by British Expertise International and Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office

Speakers:

• ⁠Mike Bowes, Principal Scientist
• ⁠Kester Clark, Assistant Science Project Manager 
• ⁠Dr Steven Cole, Head of Hydrological Forecasting & Digital Systems
• ⁠Prof Harry Dixon, AD of International Research & Development & MD of UKCEH International
• ⁠Dr Lindsay Flynn, Statistical Ecologist
• ⁠Maria Jarquin, International Relations Manager
• ⁠Colin MacKechnie, Head of Research Development and Impact
• Dr Ponnambalam Rameshwaran, Senior Research Scientist

The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) is a world-leading independent research institute, delivering impactful environmental science. With 600+ researchers, UKCEH deliver the data and insights that academics, governments and businesses need to solve urgent environmental challenges. 

Whilst engaging with the delegation from the Overseas Territories, UKCEH showcased infrastructure and nature-based solutions projects in the Overseas Territories, including invasive species control and peatland mitigation in the Falklands, and discussed a potential joined-up terrestrial research capacity-building programme relevant to the Territories.

UKCEH’s work highlights the strength of scientific expertise beyond London and includes projects which support the diverse environments and communities across the Overseas Territories. Combining a technical briefing with a tour of specialist laboratories, the session demonstrated how UKCEH generates high-quality data on water quality, pollution and ecosystem health – critical for managing increasingly complex environmental pressures.

Key Takeaways

The value of nature-based solutions

UKCEH demonstrated how working with natural processes, such as restoring wetlands, improving soil management or re-naturalising catchments, can reduce flood risk, enhance water quality, sequester carbon and support biodiversity. The Littlestock Brook scheme in Oxfordshire exemplifies this approach, where interventions reduced flood peaks and also captured carbon and nutrients while increasing ecological diversity. Similarly, ecosystem restoration projects in the Overseas Territories, such as peatland management in the Falkland Islands and cloud forest restoration in St Helena, show how NbS can strengthen climate resilience while supporting long-term environmental sustainability.

The role of predictive modelling in enabling proactive resilience planning

UKCEH’s advanced modelling capabilities illustrate a shift from reactive to proactive infrastructure and environmental management. Tools such as the UKCEH Grid-to-Grid hydrological model enable flood forecasting over short timescales, as well as longer-term climate projections into the 2020s, 2050s and beyond. For the Overseas Territories, many of which face increasing exposure to flooding, drought and extreme weather, these predictive tools are critical for informing infrastructure investment, land-use planning and disaster preparedness.

Long-term collaboration and capacity building

Scientific insight alone is insufficient without strong partnerships and local capacity, and UKCEH’s work demonstrates the value of co-designed, collaborative approaches that align research with local priorities and governance structures. Examples of this include the Green Dot programme, developed in partnership with the Natural Environment Research Council, and the Falkland Islands peatland programme, which deliver environmental benefits and support national reporting and future market opportunities.