Working towards sustainability: Thames Estuary 2100
How the Environment Agency will achieve their sustainability ambitions, including to create and improve habitat as part of Thames Estuary 2100 (TE2100).
Applies to England
As well as upgrading flood defences, Thames Estuary 2100 (TE2100) can also create better access for communities to the river and enhance the environmental, social and economic benefits it provides.
It responds to the climate and nature crises by:
- restoring ecosystems
- reducing carbon emissions
- working towards environmental and biodiversity net gain
Our sustainability themes
The Environment Agency and our partners have identified 5 areas where we can make an impact:
- the climate emergency
- the nature emergency
- carbon management
- circular economy
- social outcomes
Read What needs to be done across the estuary (outcomes) to see how we plan to act on our sustainability themes.
These themes follow sustainability legislation, partner plans and national and international policy, including:
- the UN Sustainable Development Goals
- the UK government declaring a climate emergency in 2019
- the UK government committing to becoming net zero by 2050
- the Environment Act (2021) and Environmental Improvement Plan 2023
- the Public Services (Social Value) Act (2012) and Social Value Model (2020)
- the Waste (Circular Economy) (Amendment) Regulations (2020) the EU Taxonomy Regulation (2020)
The themes guide our work and focus on building resilience in the face of the climate and nature emergencies. Our sustainability ambition encompasses more than just environmental sustainability, including social outcomes.
We aim to increase social value with our partners and local communities through resilience to flooding. This includes:
- creating environments that can thrive
- improving access to recreational spaces
- supporting community initiatives
Replacing lost habitat
Designated habitat makes up 12.5% of the area covered by Thames Estuary 2100. This habitat consists of:
- local nature reserves
- sites of special scientific interest
- national nature reserves
- UK national site network (previously called Natura 2000)
We will work with Natural England and other partners to replace habitat projected to be lost through coastal squeeze. This is when natural habitat is lost or deteriorates in quality due to rising sea levels and the presence of flood defences.
We have already created 58 hectares of intertidal habitat in Wallasea Island in Essex and Salt Fleet Flats in Kent. This meets our 2006 to 2025 target for habitat creation. This work was led by the habitat steering group and partners including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
In future we will need to create:
- 45 hectares of intertidal habitat between 2026 and 2055
- 495 hectares of intertidal habitat between 2056 and 2105
These dates match the time periods (epochs) set in shoreline management plans.
Improving habitat
Natural habitats help us to:
- manage flood risk
- protect biodiversity
- improve air, land and water quality
- capture carbon
- provide recreational, volunteering and educational opportunities
We will recover, improve and create new habitats to meet our Biodiversity Net Gain target while working towards overall environmental net gain.
We will work with partners and communities to monitor habitat quantity, condition and connectivity. To ensure the success of biodiversity improvements across the estuary, we need to monitor:
- habitat condition and quantity
- changes in fauna and flora
- blue (aquatic) and green (terrestrial) habitat connectivity
- a habitat’s contribution to natural flood management, regulation of water, risk of fire and extreme heat
Assessing environmental impact of Thames Estuary 2100
We carried out 3 environmental assessments in 2009 to assess and evaluate the impact of TE2100 policies:
- Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
- Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA)
- Water Framework Directive (WFD)
These environmental assessments help us to make decisions, and plan mitigation measures based on sound scientific and legal advice. We will update them, working with Natural England, Historic England and other partners, when we review the options in the future.
Read outcome 9: improving biodiversity to find out more about our commitment.
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
The SEA identified that all options published in the 2012 Plan had potential significant environmental impacts. In 2022, we carried out SEA screening to check if there was potential for any new or additional significant impacts as a result of the 10-Year Review of the Plan. It found that changes to the Plan are unlikely to result in new or additional significant environmental impacts.
Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA)
We conducted an HRA in 2009. This showed that all options in Thames Estuary 2100 would have a significant impact on designated sites and features in the Thames Estuary. As a result, the Plan included compensation for these, to maintain the integrity of the national site network. As the flood risk management policies remain the same, the impacts on habitat have not changed and we have not updated the HRA as part of this review.
Water Framework Directive (WFD)
We produced a WFD compliance assessment in 2009. We updated this assessment in 2022. This reconfirmed that all Thames Estuary 2100 options have the potential to impact upon hydromorphology, sensitive habitats, fish, and water quality. We will consider this when deciding on our end-of-century option.