Dame Reynolds said: “Water is our most precious resource and our water resources are under threat from climate change.

“This is a critical time to be joining the team, as new approaches to water management, up and downstream, begin to be pioneered”.

Most recently, Dame Reynolds was a non-director on the Independent Forestry Advisory Panel, while previous non-executive roles have been with Defra, the Farming and Food Policy Commission and the Commission on the future of Volunteering.

Dame Reynolds was previously director of the Cabinet Office women’s unit, assistant policy director at the Council for the Protection of Rural England and secretary for the Council for National Parks.

She will take over from environmental freelance writer and broadcaster Jonathon Porritt CBE who was on the board for seven years.

Leigh Stringer

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