This study was commissioned by DEFRA and the Environment Agency Flood and Coastal Defence R&D programme. Its purpose was to establish both the existing and future requirements for Broad Scale Ecosystem Impact Modelling (BSEIM) tools, in supporting the analysis of potential future flood management policy initiatives.
The main objective of the study was to review the range of tools that can simulate ecosystem impacts at varying spatial and temporal resolutions, for both freshwater and estuarine/coastal systems, and define an appropriate and cost-effective research programme for BSEIM.
Main policy drivers that have stimulated this research, include the Strategy for Flood and Coastal Defence in England and Wales (MAFF, 1999), fluvial Catchment Flood Management Plans (CFMP), and estuarine/coastal Shoreline Management Plans (SMP).