COUNTRY
PROFILE - UNITED KINGDOM (UK)
1. Geography and
Geology
The United Kingdom
of Great Britain comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
It lies on the western edge of Europe and is surrounded by sea. No part
of the country is more than 120 km from tidal waters. The total area of
the United Kingdom is 24.1 million ha. Great Britain can be divided roughly
into two main areas - lowland Britain and highland Britain. In the former,
the midlands, southern and eastern England lies the new and softer rocks.
The hillier areas, in Scotland, most of Wales, the broad central uplands
known as the Pennines, and the Lake District consist mainly of outcrops
of very old rocks. Lowland Britain and most of Northern Ireland is less
than 300 m above sea level. The younger rocks in this area break down
more easily into soil; and so the greater part of lowland Britain comprises
cultivated and settled areas, with varying textured soils from clay to
sandy loam silt and peat. The soils on the hills are poor and thin, supporting
coarse grasses, bracken, heather or trees.
2. Climate and
Rainfall
The climate of Great
Britain is temperate and equitable. The prevailing winds are south- westerly
and the climate is largely determined by that of the eastern Atlantic,
although during the winter months easterly winds may bring a cold, dry,
continental type of weather. The average range of temperature between
winter and summer varies from 7' to 12’C, being highest inland in
the eastern part of England.
During a normal summer
the temperature occasionally rises above 27’C; winter temperatures
below -7’C are rare. Sunshine decreases from north to south. The
average summer (April – September) potential evapotranspiration ranges
from about 230mm in the Scottish highlands to 500 mm in East Anglia.
The average annual
rainfall over Great Britain is about 1,080 mm, ranging from over 4,000
mm in a few points in the hills of Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland
to 500 mm in parts of East Anglia.
3. Population and
Land Use
The population of
Great Britain is about 56 million, giving an average population density
of about 230 inhabitants/sq.km with over 80% of the people living in towns.
For many centuries
most of the land in Britain lay in estates ranging in size from a few
hundred hectares upwards, comprising farms of varying sizes let out to
tenants. Due to social change and heavy estate duties, farms were sold
and many were bought by the tenants. About half the farms in Great Britain
today are owner occupied. However, the trend nowadays is towards merging
into larger units, particularly for arable farming.
Of the total area
of Great Britain of 24 million ha, about 7 million ha is arable land,
11 million ha. is permanent grassland, 2 million ha is forested land and
the remaining 4 million ha, is either built on or wasteland.
4. Water Resources
and Irrigation
River water quality
has improved over the last few decades as a result of improvements to
effluent quality, particularly from sewage treatment works run by the
private water companies under the guidance of the Environment Agency.
The quality of most rivers is now adequate for use for irrigation and
attention is now being given to the control of diffuse sources of pollution,
particularly from the use of pesticides and fertilizers on fields. Control
of such pollutants is essential to ensure that groundwater resources are
not polluted.
All irrigation is
carried out on an individual farm basis; there are no area or district
schemes organised by public authorities. Some 90% of outside irrigation
is spray. Trickle systems are used to a greater extent under glass and
are becoming more popular for certain outside fruit crops where there
is little cultivation and the pipes can remain in place for some years.
The quantity of water
licensed for abstraction in England and Wales for spray irrigation in
1995 was 289 million m3 (approximately 45% direct from surface, 40% from
groundwater and 15% from surface water via reservoirs). In addition to
this some 3% of the total demand for irrigation was taken from the public
mains. Spray irrigation in England and Wales is concentrated in East Anglia,
parts of the Trent Valley in the Midlands and the Somerset levels, and
in the Wye Valleys.
The area of crops
irrigated in Scotland and Northern Ireland is very small and not included
in the statistics.
Across England and
Wales in an average year only 2% of the total water abstracted is used
for spray irrigation and agriculture, compared to 51 % for public supply.
However, in East Anglia, where spray irrigation is concentrated, the proportion
is higher and on a warm summer day the amount taken for spray irrigation
can exceed that taken directly from rivers and boreholes for public water
supply.
Demand for irrigation
is forecast to increase substantially, particularly if climate change
leads to warmer and drier summers. Much of the demand is driven by supermarkets
seeking good quality vegetables and fruit. Reliable irrigation will improve
the appearance and yield of crops and reduce the need for chemicals. Vegetable
production is now an international business with British farmers competing
with European and other countries without the benefit of subsidies and
supports provided to cereal producers.
5. Institutional
Arrangements
England and Wales
The Environment Agency
was set up by the British Government in 1997 to “protect and improve
the environment for current and future generations”. Amongst other
responsibilities it is the licensing authority for water abstraction and
has powers to protect people and property in low lying areas from flooding.
The Agency has a statutory
duty to secure the proper use of water resources, which includes;
- assessing the need
for new developments and licenses;
- ensuring that the
most appropriate schemes are licensed, taking into account the environmental
impact of new developments and the impact on existing users.
The Agency owns and
operates a few raw water transfer and environmental support schemes. The
financing, promotion and development of new schemes will normally be the
concern of the main beneficiaries. The initiative for developing schemes
rests with the water companies or other private sector investors. The
Government and Environment Agency do not give grants for irrigation schemes.
Farmers who wish to
irrigate using spray equipment must have a licence from the Environment
Agency. At present, trickle irrigation is not licensable, although the
Government plans to introduce legislation to bring it under control.
In some areas the
Agency is not issuing any further summer surface water or groundwater
abstraction licences because the limited resources are already committed
to other users and/or the ecological requirements of streams and wetlands.
In these areas expansion of irrigation can only be by abstracting winter
water flows for storage in a reservoir for use in the irrigation season.
Many of the most productive
agricultural areas lie in flood plains. Major drainage systems, often
managed by Internal Drainage Boards, support local field drainage. The
Environment Agency is responsible for the “main” rivers and
sea defences, and work with financial support from the Ministry of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Food and local authorities to maintain defence standards.
In recent years there has been greater emphasis on protecting urban areas
from flooding and protection of agricultural land is a lower priority.
The Agency’s
Shoreline Management Plans are an example of the strategic approach to
sea defences it is taking. It is working with the natural geomorphological
processes, including where appropriate adopting ‘managed retreat’
options.
Great Britain and
ICID
Great Britain joined
ICID in 1951, and has since been actively associated with ICID activities
at national as well as international level. British National Committee
hosted the 22nd IEC at London in 1971; 31st IEC at London in 1980; 48th
IEC at Oxford in 1997. British National Committee is actively represented
in 18 ICID workbodies. At present Dr. Ragab Ragab is the Vice President, ICID and Chairman of WG-PQW
and WG-CROP; and Mr. Jonathan Simm is the Vice Chairman of WG-SDTA. Mr.
E.A. G. Johnson (1958-1961); Mr. P.A. Scott (1969-1972); Mr. W.R. Rangeley
(1975-1978); Mr. John Hennessy (1986-1989); Mr. Peter S. Lee (1997-2000)
were the Vice Presidents of ICID. Mr. W.R. Rangeley (1981-1984), Mr. John
Hennessy (1990-1993) and Mr. Peter S. Lee (2005-2008) were the Presidents
of ICID. At present, Dr. Bruce Lankford is the Chairman and Mr. Tim Fuller
is the Secretary of ICID.UK.
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Dr.
Ragab Ragab