INTER-INSTITUTIONAL GROUP LAUNCHES FLOOD RISK SERIES WITH ROYAL SUPPORT
Experts from the UK and abroad will explore the impact of the UK’s growing flood risk on the built environment, in a series of public lectures developed with support from HRH The Duke of Gloucester KG GCVO.
HRH has visited several of the communities affected in the 2007 and 2008 floods, and supports the Inter Institutional Group in its aims of enhancing public information and co-ordination.
Flooding is set to be one of the biggest threats the UK faces in coming years, with changing weather patterns and the wider implications of climate change meaning flooding will be more frequent and sea levels will rise significantly. The Duke of Gloucester Lecture Series: Flood Risk and the Built Environment, organised by the Inter-Institutional Flood Risk Management Group, aims to address these issues with a particular focus on the built environment.
David Balmforth, ICE vice president and chair of the Group said we must take an innovative approach to our future flood management strategies. “The UK can no longer continue to rely solely on flood defences. We need to apply fresh thinking to find sustainable solutions, placing flood risk management,” he said. “It is our hope The Duke of Gloucester Lecture Series will help bring to the fore the challenges facing the UK.”
The inaugural lecture will be given byRobert Runcie, Director of Flood and Coastal Risk Management at the Environment Agency, and will discuss the medium and long-term strategy for managing flood risk and enhancing flood resilience in the United Kingdom as well as addressing the implementation of the recommendations made by The Pitt Review.
Runcie said one in six homes in England and Wales is already at risk of flooding, and this number is likely to increase due to the effects of climate change. “As well as continuing to build and maintain flood defences, we also want to encourage individuals and businesses to help themselves by making their property more resistant to flooding,” he said. “This public lecture series will provide an excellent opportunity to discuss the options and decisions we all face in helping to reduce flood risk."
The Inter-Institutional Flood Risk Management Group aims to promote flood management and flood resilience across all sectors of the built environment. It is formed by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), the Landscape Institute and the Chartered Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM).
For more information or to register attendance please go to www.rusi.org/events
Media contact:
Emily Beadon,
ICE Media Relations
t: 020 7665 2261,
e: emily.beadon@ice.org.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS
- The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) was founded in 1818 to ensure professionalism in civil engineering. It represents 80,000 qualified and student civil engineers in the UK and across the globe. The ICE has long worked with the government of the day to help it to achieve its objectives, and has worked with industry to ensure that construction and civil engineering remain major contributors to the UK economy and UK exports.
- The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) is an independent think-tank for defence and security. RUSI is a unique institution; founded in 1831 by the Duke of Wellington, it embodies nearly two centuries of forward thinking, free discussion and careful reflection on defence and security matters. For more visit www.rusi.org