Natural England

‘Wetland Vision’ sets scene for wetland creation and restoration across South West Region.

Large areas of wetland need to be created, protected and restored across the South West Region in the next 50 years if the country is to meet the challenges of the future.

The call comes from the Wetland Vision Partnership, an alliance of conservationists and government agencies, including the RSPB, The Wildlife Trusts, Natural England, the Environment Agency and English Heritage.

The Partnership has produced a series of maps showing the loss and fragmentation of the country’s wetlands and where opportunities exist to create new ones.

Increasing pressure on land use and a changing climate mean our wetlands need to be protected and extended to safeguard our heritage and wildlife, reduce flood risk to people and property and combat climate change by storing carbon.

England has lost 90 per cent of its wetlands in the last 1,000 years, much of them since the industrial revolution. Land drainage, river engineering and abstraction of water for homes and industry mean those that remain are often small and isolated.

The maps and the information behind them will help target the restoration and creation of thousands of acres of reedbed, grazing marsh, ponds and wet grassland.

Carrie Hume, the Wetland Vision Project Manager, said: “We have created an extremely powerful tool to help restore England’s wetlands, which are among our most useful as well as our most beautiful landscapes.

“Great efforts are already being made by groups involved in wetland conservation, but our Vision signals a step change in ambition for the partners in the project.

“By showing what is possible and where, we can unlock the potential benefits for people and wildlife and inspire action to preserve and create wetlands across the landscape, from local ponds to wide expanses of fen.”

The hope is that as well as informing the partners’ work, the maps will be used by everyone from community groups to local authorities and from farmers to water companies.

Carrie Hume said: “If we invest in wetlands, we will be richly rewarded.

“In the right places, wetlands offer natural flood water storage and improved water quality, lock away huge amounts of carbon, provide havens for wildlife and fantastic places for people to visit and enjoy.

“What is more, wetlands contain some of England’s most significant heritage, including the remains of plants and animals, which help us understand past environments and unique artefacts made from materials like wood or textiles, which are preserved in these wetland sites.”

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For further information please use regional contacts listed against the case studies below:

Cotswold Water Park Vision
Cotswold Water Park aims to deliver one of central England’s top wildlife sites nationally and internationally by restoring and recreating 14 miles of wetland landscape, a mosaic of lakes, rivers, flood meadows and reedbeds. It will provide an attractive landscape for wildlife to prosper, encourage leisure pursuits and improve the quality of life for both local communities and visitors alike.

Partners: Cotswold Water Park Society, RSPB, Natural England, Environment Agency, Wildfowl & Wetland Trust, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, Gloucestershire County Council, Wiltshire County Council, Cotswold District Council, North Wiltshire District Council and Swindon Borough Council.

Contacts: Biodiversity Team, Cotswold Water Park Society, Cotswold House, Manor Farm, Down Ampney Estate, Cirencester GL7 5QT. Tel; 01793 752413, email: info@waterpark.org

Web site: www.waterpark.org

Severn & Avon Vales Wetlands Partnership
The Partnership aims to achieve the planned recovery and enhancement of the wetland resource of the Severn and Avon Vales by the wise use of land and water, in ways that are economically sound, socially responsive and environmentally sensitive. The large-scale wetland re-creation will go hand in hand with improved flood risk management for the area.

Partners: Environment Agency, Natural England, The Wildlife Trusts, the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Groups, Department of Food and Rural Affairs, National Farmers Union, the Association of Drainage Authorities, Severn-Trent Water, County and Local Councils.

Contacts: Brian Smith, Wetlands Partnership Officer, SAVWP, c/o Riversmeet House, Newtown Industrial Estate, Northway Lane, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, GL20 8JG, Tel: 01684 864328, Email: brian.smith@environment-agency.gov.uk.

Partnership Director is Tim Adkin on 07804 193058. Partnership Chair is Peter Holmes on 01242 533246

Web site: severnwetlands.org.uk

MAP : Multi-agency Project to Achieve Favourable Condition on the Somerset Levels & Moors.
The aim of this Action Plan is to bring 95% of the Somerset Levels and Moors SSSI land into favourable condition by 2010. The preferred, most sustainable option for future management involves:

• Reviewing and upgrading the current Water Level Management Plans (WLMP) and control structures (including tilting weirs, flood banks and pumping stations) to achieve target water levels and address any associated increased flood risk.
• Being mindful of climate change, ensuring investment meets future conditions. Promotion of the ES scheme as a funding mechanism to achieve effective environmental management on wetlands.
• Addressing water quality issues arising from agricultural, industrial and domestic sources.

Partners: Natural England, Environment Agency and Independent Drainage Boards

Contact: Contact Stephen Parker, Natural England on 01823 285538

Notes to editors:

Supporting quotes from partners:

Fiona Mahon, The Wildlife Trusts’ planning and water policy manager, and member of the Steering Group said: “The Wetland Vision project has provided us with a range of useful tools that will help in the delivery of inspirational and ambitious landscape-scale wetland schemes over the next few decades, for the benefit of wildlife and people”.

Rob Cunningham, the RSPB’s Head of Water Policy, said: “Iconic wetland wildlife like bitterns, kingfishers and marsh harriers are a cherished part of our natural world - but they are fragile. We are not looking to turn back the clock, but to establish a place for wetlands in a modern countryside at a time when demands on our land are increasing. In the future, we will have to make our countryside deliver as much for people and wildlife as it can. This Vision shows where wetlands could fit and what services they could deliver.”

Ann Skinner, the Environment Agency’s National Conservation Policy advisor, said: “In today's world we have forgotten just how important wetlands are to us as we are no longer directly dependent on them. Not only are they naturally productive, they also help to store and cleanse floodwaters, trap sediments and process nutrients, recharge our aquifers and lock up carbon. By setting out a shared vision for the future with our partners on this ambitious project, the Environment Agency believes we can deliver a sustainable future for wetlands that people can enjoy and wildlife can thrive in, and one that will help us to face the challenges that lie ahead from climate change.”

Jim Williams, English Heritage regional archaeological science advisor, and Steering Group member said: “Wetlands are unique places. The range of materials that are preserved in their waterlogged soils provides us with a much more complete picture of life in the past. It is important that we maintain the wet conditions on these sites. Just like wetland wildlife, wetland heritage is at risk, and sites are being lost or damaged daily. By working with our partners on the Wetland Vision, English Heritage believes that we have an opportunity to secure a viable future for the historic environment of England’s wetlands”.

Alastair Burn, Natural England’s freshwater specialist, said: “Wetlands are some of the most important landscapes on earth and they are under threat. These landscapes provide vital wildlife habitats and public services. By increasing the natural capacity of the countryside to absorb and hold excess water, the risk of flooding could be dramatically decreased. The restoration and enhancement of wetland peat bogs could save around 400,000 tonnes of carbon a year.

Natural England's recent State of the Natural Environment Report illustrates the dramatic decline in wetland birds such as lapwing, curlew and redshank. The Wetland Vision project unites the UK's leading environmental organisations in a bid to restore and re-create a network of wetlands for the benefit of people and wildlife alike.”

For more information about the Wetland Vision project aims, outputs, workshops please access the website at www.wetlandvision.org.uk.