Stretching across much of eastern England, the Fens produce a third of the country’s vegetables and support tens of thousands of jobs. Yet around 33% of the region lies below average sea level, while 87% is below the highest spring tides
The landscape only exists due to centuries of engineering – pumps, embankments and drainage channels – that keeps water moving almost constantly. Now climate change is introducing new challenges that this system was never designed to face.
