From David King, Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK government
I always read New Scientist with interest. Tam Dalyell’s item on the very important issue of flood and coastal defence in Britain was particularly interesting (16 November, p 56). In addition to the comprehensive flood protection measures described by Elliot Morley, junior minister at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Office of Science and Technology is working closely with DEFRA and other organisations to take a long-term look at this very important issue.
This work is being conducted as part of a new project in the government’s Foresight programme (www.foresight.gov.uk) and is due to report in the summer of 2003. It is bringing together leading scientists and experts to look 100 years into the future, considering how factors such as climate change and demographic shifts might affect flood risk across Britain in a range of future scenarios. It will then consider the options for responding to those challenges, and in particular the role that new science and technology might play. By so doing, the project aims to inform long-term policy in this crucial area.
London, UK
