We have a responsibility to current and future generations to protect and enhance our environment and to conserve the rich diversity that our natural and built heritage possesses.

•  Investment in our water and wastewater infrastructure needs to continue and improvements made to the extent possible.

•  Waste going to landfill is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions due to the methane released by decomposition. It is also a waste of valuable resources which could be reused or recycled and which could contribute to the economy. Through the Rethink Waste Campaign and related fund, more efficient use of resources is being promoted to accord with the EC "Waste Hierarchy" which places emphasis on waste prevention, reuse and recycling. Nonetheless, local government will still require significant new infrastructure to enable it to meet statutory targets for diversion of waste for landfill.

•  The development of our society has been fundamentally influenced by rivers and the sea. The opportunities for water, food and ease of transport provided by rivers and the sea has given rise to many of our urban areas being situated close to rivers or along the coastline and, as a consequence, they may be at risk from flooding. While government investment in food protection measures has reduced the likelihood of flooding to people and property, a significant element of risk remains. It is estimated that 1 in 18 properties are at risk from flooding from rivers or the sea, with about a third of these benefitting from some form of defences. Human activity potentially reducing the natural water retention within catchments and the predicted impacts of climate change will increase the likelihood and adverse impacts of flooding. Government plays a central role in food risk management through the development and implementation of both policy and structural interventions, including the provision of freely available information on the scale and nature of food risks and taking forward a planned approach to manage the risk as set out in the EC Floods Directive. The risk from reservoirs is also considered to be significant although it is not currently the subject of regulation.