Dr. Deirdre Lynn:

From a biodiversity perspective, I am very much in favour of natural systems where possible, including natural flood plains. Since time began, nature has been holding and releasing water. That is my personal view, although I appreciate there are other reasons for the legislation. We might hear Deputy Bruton's views on the matter.

We must assess much of what we do and, in particular, the costs we put in versus the benefits we get. We must value the ecosystem services that biodiversity gives us in water retention in particular with this instance. We must consider such a cost-benefit analysis. I understand the sensitivities around households or urban areas being flooded. However, and possibly as part of the land use review, we should be looking at all of this, including watershed systems and where water is held. We should start from the head waters in the mountains and ensure our blanket bogs are in good order so they can retain water before it comes into our lowland systems as well.

Under the climate action plan, there are actions relating to the rewetting of agricultural peatlands. We know we must go back to a system of rewetting to ensure we store carbon within our systems as well. We must look at all of this holistically.