ENVIRONMENT Minister and Taunton Deane MP Rebecca Pow was given a tour of Steart Marshes, near Stolford, to discover how wetlands can combat climate crisis

She went to the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust (WWT) site to find out how healthy wetlands can reduce flooding, pollution and carbon, helping people and wildlife adapt to climate change.

The visit followed a WWT parliamentary reception at Westminster to highlight the need for wetlands to be at the centre of efforts to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss – by soaking up CO2, mitigating flooding, saving wildlife and improving people’s own wellbeing.

Steart Marshes, created in 2014 by WWT and the Environment Agency, showcases the multiple benefits of wetlands, demonstrating how wetlands are both productive and useful. 

Vulnerable to the changing tide, low-lying farmland was transformed into 1,100 acres (450 hectares) of salt marshes and freshwater wetlands to protect the local community from flooding while at the same time, storing tonnes of climate-causing carbon.

The varying habitat now sustains a huge mixture of birds, mammals and plants and are connected via a system of ditches and water control structures and grazed by local farmers, whose specialist salt lamb and beef goes to market at premium prices.

Ms Pow said: “It’s wonderful to see first-hand how natural flood management projects like Steart Marshes are helping the UK to better protect against flooding while helping to reach our net zero target by 2050. 

“Working with the Environment Agency, this Government will have invested £15 million in natural flood schemes across the country by 2021 as we continue to adapt to climate change.”