Like many people in the UK, Leah Ramoutar was surprised to learn that rainforests exist in Britain.
Like many people in the UK, Leah Ramoutar was surprised to learn that rainforests exist in Britain.
Leah leads Aviva’s Environmental Centre of Excellence, the Group’s central climate and nature team.
The team supports delivery of Aviva’s Climate Action agenda by helping the business progress towards net zero, protect and restore nature, and supporting adaptation and building resilience to a changing climate for customers, communities and the business.
Born in Trinidad & Tobago, Aviva’s Director of Environmental Sustainability grew up with a tropical rainforest on her doorstep. "That was my reference point. When I thought of a rainforest, I thought of the kinds of landscapes you’d see on a David Attenborough programme."
She was fascinated to learn that the UK is home to some of the world's last remaining temperate rainforests, part of one of the rarest habitats on Earth. And when she started working in insurance, she began thinking about them in a very different way.
It might not be immediately obvious why an insurer like Aviva is helping restore some of the last remaining fragments of the UK's rainforests. But for Leah the answer is clear: “It’s all about resilience.”
Rainforests as critical natural infrastructure
Adaptation and resilience are two words that come up time and again when thinking about a changing climate. Simply put, adaptation is about preparing for risks such as flooding, drought and extreme heat, while resilience is our ability to withstand, respond to and recover from them.
Traditionally, building resilience has often meant investing in engineered solutions, such as sea walls or drainage systems, as Leah explains
“Engineered solutions are typically designed to deliver a specific outcome, such as flood defence, water treatment, or coastal protection. And they often provide a predictable level of performance within defined design parameters.”
But they also have shortcomings and come with trade-offs. Cost can be a barrier, as can the capacity to deliver big engineering projects. There’s also the risk of unintended consequences: focusing on a particular problem but missing the bigger system-wide picture. Flood protection in one community could make damage worse for those living downstream, for instance.
"The work we're doing with temperate rainforests is about harnessing the power of natural systems that already exist. When we look at challenges through a systems lens, we can see multiple benefits that support one another."
“A restored, thriving woodland will capture carbon as it grows. But it will also help regulate water flows, enhance air quality and support biodiversity too. If we can use natural systems and work with nature, that can be a fundamental shift.”
For Leah the value of the UK's rainforests goes way beyond their importance as a rare habitat. They are a form of natural infrastructure that can help the UK become more resilient to a changing climate.
Why this matters to an insurer
Aviva's approach to climate action began with a strong focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy. Those efforts remain critical.
However, climate change is no longer only a future risk. Physical impacts are already affecting communities, economies and businesses around the world. From flooding and storms to heatwaves, droughts and wildfires, the consequences are ever more apparent, and attention is now increasingly turning to how we can manage the impacts that are already being felt.
For Leah, that means embedding resilience into the way we live, work and build. "We need to build resilience into everything we do, into our businesses, into how we build our homes, everywhere, because these physical shocks are only going to become harder for communities to bounce back from."
“Insurance as a concept is there to help everyday people recover from unexpected events. But there’s an increasing need for us to also think how we can reduce these risks over time before any losses occur.”
“If we don’t get this right, we could have the extreme scenario where losses from storms and floods become increasingly frequent and costly, putting pressure on the affordability and availability of insurance in the most exposed areas.”.
“Customers would be completely worse off, facing higher costs and greater financial vulnerability, while increasingly frequent and unpredictable losses would have wider repercussions across the national economy.”
"On the other hand, more resilient customers and communities are good for everyone," says Leah. "It's good for our customers, it's good for society and it's good for the insurance model too."
Benefits for people and places
One of the advantages of working with nature is that the benefits rarely stop at a single outcome. While a restored rainforest can help build resilience to climate change, it can also create lasting benefits for wildlife, local economies and communities.
That wider impact is a central feature of Aviva's partnership with The Wildlife Trusts. Local communities are encouraged to get involved through volunteering, education and opportunities to experience and enjoy these unique landscapes.
Leah explains their appeal, shaped by centuries of the unique combination of conditions. “They've got this beautiful ancient structure that supports all these communities of mosses, ferns, fungi and lichens, many of which thrive in the cool, damp conditions created by the rainforest itself. It's a remarkable ecosystem that you don't really find in many other places on Earth."
Simply spending time in woodlands like these is good for you. Research shows it has benefits for people’s health and feelings of wellbeing. Leah also includes wider social and economic benefits that come from opportunities for “visitors and tourism, opportunities for local workers, opportunities for education and local participation, the chance for communities to come together.” Benefits that reach far beyond engineered solutions.
Thinking in generations
Another aspect of the project that sets it apart is its timescale. Aviva and the Wildlife Trusts have committed to an ambitious 100-year journey, recognising that restoring temperate rainforests is measured not in months or years, but in generations.
“We’re trying to create a lasting legacy. I won’t be around over the lifetime of the project. None of us will. But by setting the programme up around a sense of stewardship, if community is really invested in the benefits, then you can help ensure that longevity. People support what they value and they value what they feel connected to”
Looking a century ahead also changes how success is measured. “We’re not just asking what we’re going to achieve this year. We’re asking what conditions we can create today so that future generations inherit a world that is resilient, thriving and rich in nature, with the same opportunities to benefit from and connect with it as we do now.”
Ultimately, that is the legacy Leah hopes the project will leave behind. “That’s how I would measure success: by the value we continue to create long after we’re gone. To make that happen, we need to remember that we’re not simply beneficiaries of the natural world. I’d like to think that all of us can consider ourselves as its stewards.”
As the project proves its worth and the UK's temperate rainforests slowly recover over the decades ahead, Leah hopes they will stand as a reminder that building resilience, restoring nature and investing in future generations are all connected. The hope is that children today, rather than being surprised by discovering that rainforests exist in their country, will grow up seeing them as a thriving and valued part of Britian’s natural heritage, enjoyed and cared for by generations to come.
