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Catchment Sensitive Farming Phase 1 & 2 Evaluation (JP005)

Evaluation is a core part of the Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) project: essential for assessing delivery of objectives and benefits.

Diffuse pollution is a complex issue and there is significant uncertainty associated with measuring the benefits of mitigation. To address this, our approach draws on data and information from a range of sources to develop the overall evidence for the benefits of CSF. These include:

  • farmer engagement
  • farmer awareness and attitude
  • uptake of measures to control pollution
  • pollutant losses and water quality

The joint Environment Agency and Natural England evaluation of the first 6 years of CSF shows that:

  • CSF advice has been delivered to almost 13,000 holdings covering an area of 1.94m hectares;
  • 57% of holdings have implemented over 62% of the specific recommendations made to reduce water pollution. In total 218,596 recommendations were made;
  • monitored pollutant levels have reduced by up to 30%

Since publication of the first report in June 2011, further evidence for the benefits of CSF has come from:

  • high-level assessment showing that CSF delivers a range of benefits that go well beyond the primary objective of improving water quality – these include soil quality, air quality, flood risk, climate regulation and water supply
  • monitoring of the River Dove (Peak District) which is providing early signs of ecological improvements (freshwater macro-invertebrates) following CSF delivery

Downloads available for this record

File Uploaded
CSF phase 1 & 2 evaluation summary, PDF, 152.5 kB 2013/09/05
CSF phase 1 & 2 evaluation full report, PDF, 6.2 MB 2013/09/05

Related Access to Evidence records

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Catchment Sensitive Farming Phase 3 Evaluation Report (CSF156)