Land management in a post-Brexit UK: An opportunity for integrated catchment management to deliver multiple benefits?

Recent environmental policy bills outlined by the UK government in the wake of Brexit highlight an intention by the government to take a more holistic approach to land and water management. While previous legislation has taken a siloed approach to landscape management, often focusing on point source pollutions, the Agriculture and Environment Bills present the opportunity for effective protection of the environment while providing wider environmental benefits such as reduced flood risk, increased biodiversity and provision of cultural services. We outline how and why previous European Union legislation has failed to deliver the intended environmental improvements relating to agricultural land management in the UK. We highlight how the adoption of integrated catchment management and proposed “payment‐for‐outcome” schemes at a large scale could be used to push the United Kingdom into the forefront of sustainable farming, land management and championing environmental benefits to society.