The Environment Agency was established to bring together previously disparate responsibilities for protecting the environment and to contribute to sustainable development. This integrated approach means that we consider all elements of the environment when we plan and carry out our work.
It allows us to combine an England and Wales perspective with practical experience of work at a local level. It also allows us to identify the best environmental options and solutions, taking into account the different impacts on water, land and air. For example, our responsibilities for water and land quality mean we can co-ordinate plans for whole river basins.
We are responsible to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and are a Welsh Government Sponsored Body responsible to the Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development. We have a presence across all of England and Wales with teams based in seven English regions and Wales actively working in their local communities. Our work includes:
- regulation of major industry
- flood and coastal risk management
- waste management
- agriculture
- navigation
- fisheries
- contaminated land
- conservation and ecology
- water quality and resources
- climate change.
