How BNG Projects Improve Water Quality and Restore Soil Health

As the world tackles biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is playing an important part in reversing environmental damage while enabling sustainable development. 

As well as boosting habitats for wildlife, BNG projects unlock powerful ‘co-benefits’, allowing nature to thrive and do what it does best. 

What Does BNG Mean?

BNG is an approach to development and land management that ensures habitats are left in a measurably better state than they were before. It means developers and landowners must compensate for environmental impacts by creating or enhancing biodiversity.

BNG is now mandatory in many parts of the UK under the Environment Act 2021, requiring a minimum 10% net gain in biodiversity for most new developments.

BNG projects typically include actions like:

• Restoring or creating woodlands, wetlands and grasslands

• Planting native vegetation

• Enhancing riparian (streamside) habitats

• Improving hydrological connectivity and natural drainage

BNG is an approach to development and land management that ensures habitats are left in a measurably better state than they were before.

Beyond Biodiversity: BNG’s Co-Benefits 

While the primary goal of BNG is ecological improvement, these projects also deliver ecosystem services: nature-based benefits for soil, water, air and even climate regulation. 

Improving Water Quality

There are several ways BNG projects benefit our water.

1. Creating or Restoring Wetlands 

Constructed or restored wetlands act as natural water filters, removing pollutants like nitrogen, phosphorus and heavy metals from agricultural runoff or stormwater.

Wetlands slow water flow, allowing sediments and contaminants to settle. Vegetation absorbs excess nutrients, reducing algal blooms downstream.

2. Enhancing Riparian Buffer Zones

Planting trees and vegetation along riverbanks (riparian zones) protects waterways by:

• Trapping sediment and pollutants before they enter the water

• Reducing erosion

• Cooling water temperatures, which support aquatic life

3. Rewilding and Re-meandering Streams

Restoring the natural curves and bends (meanders) in previously straightened or channelised streams can significantly improve water quality in several key ways: 

• Creating areas of slower and faster water movement supports a more diverse array of species by offering varied flow conditions, sediment deposition zones and improved oxygenation throughout the stream

• Slowing the flow of water overall, which allows more time for natural filtration and settling of sediments and pollutants; fast-flowing water can carry more pollutants downstream

• Enhancing sediment trapping, which helps keep downstream water clearer and protecting aquatic life

• Supporting riparian vegetation by creating diverse habitats

• Reducing flooding and improving oxygen levels in water bodies, allowing ecosystems to recover and better support life.

While the primary goal of BNG is ecological improvement, these projects also deliver ecosystem services.

Restoring Soil Health

Healthy soil is the foundation of productive ecosystems. BNG contributes through:

1. Planting Native Vegetation

Native grasses, shrubs, and trees improve soil structure and fertility. Deep roots aerate the soil and increase organic matter in the soil. Plants help to prevent soil erosion and improve moisture retention.

2. Restoring Soil Biology

Enabling natural processes through land restoration, soils can regain their structure, fertility and resilience, leading to an increase in soil biodiversity that supports the soil food web.

This increase in biological abundance within the soil is a building block for wider ecosystem restoration and species recovery.

3. Reducing Chemical Inputs

BNG sites often transition away from intensive land use towards lower-impact management. Reduced use of fertilisers and pesticides helps the soil microbes to regenerate, which are essential for nutrient cycling.  

 4. Increasing Soil Carbon Sequestration

BNG practices like afforestation (planting trees in an area where there weren’t any before) and restoration of species-rich grassland enhance the soil's ability to store carbon. 

More carbon means healthier, more fertile soils with better structure and greater resilience. In turn, this enhances water retention, promotes microbial and plant life, and contributes to climate change mitigation.

Healthy soil is the foundation of productive ecosystems.

In summarY

BNG supports water quality and soil health by encouraging nature-based solutions that rebuild ecosystems. These solutions restore the natural functions of landscapes, which in turn support cleaner water and more resilient, productive soils – all of which are essential for sustainable agriculture, flood prevention, safe drinking water and climate adaptation.

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