INDEX CONSULTATIONS January 2022
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January 2022
INDEX
CONSULTATIONS
• Draft Joint Fisheries Statement
• River basin planning – draft river basin management plans
• Consultation on approach to beaver reintroduction and management in England
UK NEWS
• Anglian Water plans for programme of river restoration schemes
• 99% of Scotland’s bathing waters passed environmental water quality standards this
summer
• Brand Audit 2021: most polluting offenders
• Conservation success as beaver numbers double in Scotland
• Cross-party report calls for microfibre filters on all washing machines by 2025
• English bathing sites – monitoring results
• Environment Act becomes law
• First nature-based wastewater treatment in Yorkshire completed
• Fish Health Inspectorate: protecting wild and farmed aquatic animals
• Funding boost for farmers to tackle water pollution
• Great British Beach Clean 2021
• Have you caught a Pacific pink salmon in England?
• Lessons from the first year of Ofwat’s Innovation Fund
• Next steps to tackle plastic waste
• Ofwat’s second Water Breakthrough Challenge
• Riverbanks and watercourses to be planted with new woodland
• Water companies could face legal action after investigation launched into sewage
treatment works
• Wholescape Approach to Marine Management (WAMM)INTERNATIONAL NEWS
• Blue Planet Fund to protect the world’s oceans with multimillion boost for marine
recovery
• New ‘Blue Shield’ for UK Overseas Territories to Defend Oceans
• Open Rivers Programme – restoring endangered European rivers
• Pitcairn Islands’ tiny Pacific community publishes ambitious five-year management
plan for its vast Marine Protected Area
• Ten euros of benefit for every euro invested in an MPA in Mallorca
• What is the future for monitoring Europe’s surface waters?
PROJECTS AND RESEARCH
• An analysis of national macroinvertebrate trends for England: 1991–2019
• Cleaning rivers from plastic pollution with bubbles
• Climate change may be a significant threat to world’s fresh-water fish
• Established populations of invasive Asian date mussels found in the Greater North
Sea ecoregion
• Increasing levels of toxic metals in coastal sediments highlight the need – in the
context of the developing blue economy – to address hidden sources of these
contaminants
• New study estimates there is at least ten times more plastic in the Atlantic than
previously thought
• Pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors: transfer from water to land ecosystems
• Understanding ecosystems and resilience using DNA
PUBLICATIONS
• 21st Century Rivers: From Recovery to Renewal
• £billions of benefits from rivers and lakes quantified for the first time
• Blueprint for Water – actions to recover England’s waters and wildlife
• Chalk Stream Strategy
• Challenges for the water environment – various reports from gov.uk
• Create ponds and lakes
• Environmental Audit Committee report on water quality in rivers
• Good Fish Guide for Business: a new tool helping to source sustainable seafood• International Guidelines on Natural and Nature-Based Features (NNBF) for Flood
Risk Management
• Mercury: challenges for the water environment
• Natural Capital of Freshwater Fisheries in England
• Natural Flood Management Programme – initial findings
• Nitrates: challenges for the water environment
• Pollution and barriers are key problems for Europe’s waters
• Restoration Handbooks give best practice advice on creating new estuarine and
coastal habitats
• Restoring England’s ‘Great Barrier Reef’
• River basin management planning guidance
• Six-year report on progress with marine plans in England
• Surfers Against Sewage Water Quality Report 2021
• Troubled Waters report
ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
CONSULTATIONS
DRAFT JOINT FISHERIES STATEMENT
Defra want to hear your views about the draft Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS). The JFS has
been developed by the four fisheries administrations of the UK (Scottish Government, Welsh
Government, UK Government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural
Affairs in Northern Ireland).
The final JFS will be published in November 2022 and will set the future direction of UK
fisheries management. It is a requirement of the Fisheries Act 2020 and will make sure that
policies deliver a thriving, sustainable fishing industry and healthy marine environment.
The consultation closes on 12 April 2022.
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/draft-joint-fisheries-statement-jfsRIVER BASIN PLANNING – DRAFT RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT PLANS The current river basin management plans were published in February 2016. The plans must be reviewed and updated every 6 years. Defra want your views on the draft plans to help shape the management of the water environment. They will help Defra update the current river basin management plans. This consultation on the updated draft river basin management plans is the final (of 3). It gives you an opportunity to give your views on the proposed long term objectives for the water environment and the measures to achieve them. Consultations runs until 22 April 2022. Read more here CONSULTATION ON APPROACH TO BEAVER REINTRODUCTION AND MANAGEMENT IN ENGLAND Defra have sought views on their proposed approach to further reintroductions of beavers in England and the management of the species in the wild. The consultation set out their proposed approach, including in relation to future releases into the wild, current and future releases into enclosures and existing wild-living beavers. They were also wanting to know what management and support you think should be available to those managing beavers. The consultation ran for 12 weeks and closed on 17 November. See the accompanying documents here
UK NEWS ANGLIAN WATER PLANS FOR PROGRAMME OF RIVER RESTORATION SCHEMES The water company plans to invest over £7 million across 16 separate schemes all designed to restore unique river habitats, improving ecology and biodiversity. The work will be delivered by Anglian Water in collaboration with a number of environmental bodies, alongside the wider, established, Catchment Based Approach (CaBA) partnerships. The investment is part of £300 million worth of fast-tracked funding the water company brought forward at the end of 2020 as part of the government’s green recovery plans. After being given the green light by Defra, Anglian has begun work on more than 200 environmental schemes, a year earlier than planned, and at no extra cost to customers. The water company said the accelerated delivery is aligned to the Rivers Trust’s recent call for a radical rethink for rivers and the release of their State of Our Rivers report. The report points out the importance of restored healthy rivers for climate resilience, particularly in drought vulnerable areas such as East Anglia. By restoring targeted stretches of riverbed, the company estimates there will be a wider ecological benefit across up to 250 km of river catchment. Read more here 99% OF SCOTLAND’S BATHING WATERS PASSED ENVIRONMENTAL WATER QUALITY STANDARDS THIS SUMMER Scotland’s bathing water quality is the best it has been since 2015 when tighter standards first came into force, with almost all sites now classified as sufficient or better for next season. On top of that 32 out of 85 (38%) are rated as ‘excellent’, the highest number since the annual classifications were reported from 2015. Read more here
BRAND AUDIT 2021: MOST POLLUTING OFFENDERS Surfers Against Sewage arranged the UK’s biggest coordinated beach clean event in May 2021. Over 50,000 volunteers took part in 600 cleans, covering 350,000 miles in total over the Million Mile flagship week. Of these volunteers, 3,917 walked and cleaned 11,139 miles of beaches, rivers, mountains and more, submitting 377 brand audit data sets. A total of 26,983 items of packaging pollution were monitored as part of the brand audit. The top 12 most polluting brands were responsible for 48% of all packaging pollution monitored during the audit. There was little change in the most polluting brands of 2021 compared to 2019 results with Coca-Cola, Walkers, McDonalds, Cadbury, Tesco, Lucozade, Costa Coffee, Mars Wrigley and Haribo all making repeat appearances. This year’s Dirty Dozen companies were responsible for a massive 65% of all branded items collected. Coca-Cola once again took the top spot with Pepsi-Co holding on to the second place. The COVID-19 pandemic has seen some changes in the most polluting brands and the Dirty Dozen companies. Brands such as Stella Artois and Budweiser have moved up into the top 12 polluting brands with Anheauser-Bush InBev moving from eighth to third in the Dirty Dozen companies ranking. This is likely to be due to the closure of pubs, bars and restaurants increasing personal alcohol consumption in public recreational settings during lockdowns. Read the report here CONSERVATION SUCCESS AS BEAVER NUMBERS DOUBLE IN SCOTLAND The number of beavers has more than doubled in Scotland in the last three years to around 1000 animals, according to a recent NatureScot survey. The new population survey has not only found that beaver numbers have increased, but that the population is in a rapid expansion phase as beavers spread out from Tayside, with territory numbers also more than doubling to 251. That population now ranges from Glen Isla to Dundee and Stirling, Forfar to Crianlarich, and is likely to expand into Loch Lomond in the future.
The 2020 Beaver Management Report has also been published. It outlines the range of
practical mitigation measures undertaken by NatureScot and land managers last year to
reduce the negative impacts of beaver activity, such as burrowing and dam building on
agricultural land. It reveals that 68 active mitigation projects (such as tree protection and
installing flow devices in beaver dams) were progressed. To prevent serious damage to
agriculture, under species control licences reported to NatureScot, 31 beavers were trapped
and moved to licensed, enclosed reintroduction projects in England, 56 beaver dams were
removed, and 115 beavers lethally controlled.
Since EPS (European Protected Species) protection, lethal control is now regulated by
licence, ensuring that the beaver population continues to grow and expand, while allowing
impacts to be managed on particularly susceptible and important agricultural land. Most
beavers benefit nature and cause no issues with landowners. However, in small number of
cases, particularly on agricultural land, there can be negative impacts.
https://www.nature.scot/conservation-success-beaver-numbers-double-scotland
CROSS-PARTY REPORT CALLS FOR MICROFIBRE FILTERS ON
ALL WASHING MACHINES BY 2025
Executive summary of recommendations from the all-party parliamentary group on
microplastics:
Education and Awareness
1. Emphasise the role of education and awareness of microplastics.
A. The UK government to coordinate targeted public behaviour awareness
communication campaigns on the environmental impacts of plastic microfibre release
from the laundry and wastewater treatment cycle.
B. The UK government to work with curriculum leads, academia, citizen science
facilitators and on- the-ground educators to provide teachers and educational
professionals with researched and evidenced ‘microplastic action packs’ for use in
schools and youth groups. This is in order for young people to be aware of the
problem and the steps they can take to mitigate their own impact.
2. Appoint a designated ‘Minister for Plastics Pollution’ (MOPP): a new cross-departmental
Minister with a clear remit for the control and prevention of plastic pollution, as well asoversight of environmental policies that concern plastics and their polluting effects on the
land and aquatic environments.
Textiles
3. Introduce an Extended Producer Responsibility scheme for textiles from 2023.
Filtration and wastewater
4. Introduce legislation and standards which require microfibre filters to be fitted into all new
domestic and commercial washing machines from 2025. 5. Creation of UK microfibre
recycling technology.
5. Creation of UK microfibre recycling technology.
A. Incentivise the establishment of recycling technology for microfibres with funding
through Innovate UK to enable UK businesses to deliver viable microfibre recycling
solutions at scale.
B. Washing machine manufacturers and/or filter manufacturers are mandated to
communicate how microfibre waste should be correctly recycled or disposed.
6. Create an Environmental Quality Standard for plastics.
https://media.mcsuk.org/documents/WI_APPGMicroplastics_Report_FINAL_WEB_YJanAzo.
pdf
ENGLISH BATHING SITES – MONITORING RESULTS
99% of bathing waters in England have passed water quality standards following testing at
over 400 designated sites carried out by the Environment Agency (EA). The results show that
for the 2021 bathing season, 94.7% of beaches and inland waters gained an ‘Excellent’ or
‘Good’ rating while 4.3% achieved the minimum ‘Sufficient’ rating. This compares with 98.3%
passing the required standards in 2019, and is the highest number since new standards were
introduced in 2015.
While progress has been made, there is still much more to be done to ensure cleaner and
healthier waters for people to enjoy. Defra say they are clear that more needs to be done on
the part of water companies, and they are taking robust action to support regulators,
businesses, farmers and councils to help clean up our waters.Since 2015 the EA has required water companies to install Event Duration Monitors at bathing water sites. This captures data on the frequency and duration of storm overflow discharges, with all the data published online so the public can see what is happening in their local area. More than 12,000 of England’s 15,000 storm overflows now have these monitors, and the remaining 3,000 will have them by end of next year. Read more here ENVIRONMENT ACT BECOMES LAW Defra state: This legislation will protect and enhance our environment for future generations has now passed into UK law. Through the Act, we will clean up the country’s air, restore natural habitats, increase biodiversity, reduce waste and make better use of our resources. It will halt the decline in species by 2030, require new developments to improve or create habitats for nature, and tackle deforestation overseas. It will help us transition to a more circular economy, incentivising people to recycle more, encouraging businesses to create sustainable packaging, making household recycling easier and stopping the export of polluting plastic waste to developing countries. These changes will be driven by new legally binding environmental targets, and enforced by a new, independent Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) which will hold government and public bodies to account on their environmental obligations. Read Defra’s press release: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/world-leading-environment-act-becomes-law If you want to read a couple of commentaries on the Act, click here and here
FIRST NATURE-BASED WASTEWATER TREATMENT IN YORKSHIRE COMPLETED Sustainable wastewater treatment is underway at Yorkshire Water’s Clifton wastewater treatment works, near Doncaster, after the planting of 20,000 wetland plants. The site has been transformed into an integrated constructed wetland, with the clay in the ponds and the plants naturally removing phosphorus from treated wastewater before it is returned to the environment. The wetland ponds will provide the only wastewater treatment on site – the first of its kind in Yorkshire – as a trial to monitor nature-based treatment processes. An area of interconnected ponds approximately the size of three Olympic swimming pools have been planted as part of the project. As well as providing a sustainable and energy-efficient way of treating the water, the wetland will also increase biodiversity in the area and attract a range of wildlife including bees and other pollinators, breeding birds, amphibians and reptiles. Read more here FISH HEALTH INSPECTORATE: PROTECTING WILD AND FARMED AQUATIC ANIMALS Serious diseases pose a threat to aquatic animal health both in aquaculture and in the wild. Many of these diseases have no effective treatment and have the potential to cause high numbers of mortalities in aquatic animals, with the consequent large economic loss and threat to biodiversity. Official control of diseases through policy and legislation is necessary to ensure a sustainable aquaculture industry that meets international standards and ensures safe trade. To be effective, disease controls must use applied science and research to inform government policy and direct the appropriate legislation. This requires strong links between industry, science, and government. The Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) at Cefas facilitates these vital connections. The resulting specialist relationships that exist between the FHI and the diagnosticians, epidemiologists, and research scientists at Cefas, and with government and other agencies, contributes to the high standard of aquatic animal health controls for diseases of national importance, to support sustainable aquaculture and food from water. Read more here
FUNDING BOOST FOR FARMERS TO TACKLE WATER
POLLUTION
Farmers will be given additional advice and support to help them access a range of solutions
to reduce water and air pollution from their land.
Over the last 15 years, the Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) programme has been one of
the main ways to help farmers tackle pollution which results from manure, fertiliser and soil
running off into rivers when it rains. The programme – which is a partnership between Defra,
Natural England and the Environment Agency – provides free one-to-one advice to farmers
to help them reduce water and air pollution through management of farmyard manure and
soils among other things.
The funding for the programme will now be almost doubled, with an additional £17m over the
next three years. The new annual budget will be £30m. This means it will cover 100% of
England’s farmland, up from 40% of its current coverage, with every farmer able to access
advice and support by March 2023 to help them access a range of solutions to reduce
pollution.
The extra funding will provide more Natural England advisers to help farmers implement
practical solutions to reduce pollution, including planting new grassland buffer strips to
improve drainage, establishing river side trees to reduce run off into rivers and using better
slurry storage facilities to avoid accidental spillage. Natural England teams will also help
farmers apply for grants to invest in new equipment and technology, such as precision
farming tools that reduce the use of fertilisers and better protect the soil.
Read more here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/funding-boost-for-farmers-to-tackle-water-pollution
GREAT BRITISH BEACH CLEAN 2021
An army of 6,176 volunteers joined forces to take part in the Great British Beach Clean
throughout the third week of September. A total of 5064.8 kg of litter was collected over the
week, with volunteers recording their findings for a citizen science project to discover the
most common forms of litter blighting UK shores.
• The average litter recorded per 100 m is dropping year-on-year across the UK. An
average of 385 items were found, compared to averages of 425 in 2020, and 558 in 2019.• Cotton bud sticks moved out of the UK’s top 10 most common rubbish items. An average
of six plastic cotton bud sticks were found – the lowest in the Great British Beach Clean’s
28-year history – down from 15 in 2020.
• Numbers of single-use plastic bags on beaches have continued to drop, from a high of 13
on average in 2013, to just three in 2021.
• 75% of all litter collected was plastic or polystyrene. An average of 112 pieces were found
for every 100 m of UK beach surveyed.
https://www.mcsuk.org/news/the-results-are-in-for-our-great-british-beach-clean-2021/
HAVE YOU CAUGHT A PACIFIC PINK SALMON IN ENGLAND?
The inland and coastal waters of England are home to a host of different fish species, but we
can now add another name to that list, the Pacific pink salmon.
Up until recently, catching a Pacific pink salmon was as rare as netting a red herring.
However, in 2017 unprecedented numbers of this species were reported within inshore
coastal waters and rivers in Scotland and England. In Scotland, pink salmon were found to
have spawned successfully producing viable eggs that hatched into fry (juvenile fish). Seven
pink salmon were subsequently recorded by anglers in or close to English rivers. Pacific pink
salmon were originally introduced to a number of Russian rivers in the 1960s and have slowly
spread westwards colonising additional rivers in northern Norway.
Owing to the two year life cycle of this species, 2019 will be the first year that we can expect
to see these fish return in numbers. If anglers or commercial netspeople do catch a Pacific
pink salmon then the Environment Agency would love to hear from you, as we are interested
in monitoring their numbers and distribution at a regional and national scale.
This year so far, there have been seven confirmed incidences of pink salmon across the UK
and the Republic of Ireland - one in Wales, one in Ireland, three in Scotland and two in a T
net set to catch sea trout off the Northumbrian coast. These numbers accompany the earlier
sightings recorded back in 2017.
Guidance and how to report a find: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/have-you-caught-a-
pacific-pink-salmon-in-englandLESSONS FROM THE FIRST YEAR OF OFWAT’S INNOVATION FUND Harry Armstrong, Ofwat’s director of regulatory policy, reflects on creativity and collaboration from the first 12 months of the regulator’s Innovation Fund. Kicking off in October 2020, Ofwat established its £200 million fund to encourage innovation while shouldering risk in getting projects off the ground amid what it saw as a broader dip in research and development funding across the water industry. The move emphasised the need for water company-led innovation to meet climate challenges, technological advances and the demands of a growing population head-on, according to Ofwat’s director of regulatory policy, who sees it as an essential means of investing in and trailing new ways of working. Both the Innovation in Water and Water Breakthrough Challenges will run until 2025 with their projects and respective impacts expected to stretch beyond that. Armstrong explained that the fund’s pilot phase comprises two rounds in order for Ofwat, the wider sector and its companies to gauge whether or not value is being delivered. The first round comprised two streams: the Innovation in Water Challenge which made £2 million available for entries between £50,000 and £250,000, and the Water Breakthrough Challenge, which offered £40 million for entries between £1 million and £10 million. The second round offers a Catalyst Stream, £5 million available for entries between £100,000 and £1 million with winners announced mid-March 2022, and a Transform Stream, providing £34 million for entries between £1 million and £10 million, with winners announced in late April 2022. Though he stressed that the regulator was trying to avoid being ‘too directive’, he suggested that focus on climate change, delivering public value, the impact of extreme weather and pollution, unlocking the power of open data and operational resilience would be key pillars beneath best-in-class innovation moving forwards. Additionally, having funded some 20 projects thus far, the regular has also started to see an influx of higher risk projects that have the potential to deliver transformative benefits, but equally which may not work. Greater emphasis on speed will also need to be factored into future innovation projects according to Armstrong – including what he described as a willingness to fail fast, experiment, and adapt plans more quickly when firms discover what does and doesn’t work.
Additionally, Armstrong highlighted that, at present, water is heavily reliant on engineers and that he’d be keen to see some more projects growing from demand management and customer engagement spheres in future. Read more here Read the Water Breakthrough Challenge 1 decision document here NEXT STEPS TO TACKLE PLASTIC WASTE UK government is to consult on banning a range of polluting plastics this year, with single- use plastic plates, cutlery and polystyrene cups under review. The war on plastic waste is set to be ramped up with fresh plans to stop the supply of a range of single-use plastics that threaten our natural environment. Single-use plastic plates, cutlery and polystyrene cups are among a raft of items that could be banned in England as part of a new public consultation being launched soon. These proposals will lead to businesses using more sustainable alternatives and prevent plastic litter from polluting our landscapes. It is estimated that each person uses a staggering 18 single-use plastic plates and 37 single- use plastic items of cutlery each year in England. The durability of plastic means litter from items used for a few minutes can last for centuries in landfill or as litter in the countryside or ocean. Around the world, more than one million birds and over 100,000 sea mammals and turtles die every year from eating or getting tangled in plastic waste. Industry is taking action to tackle plastic waste, such as through the UK Plastics Pact, a collaboration between businesses from across the entire plastics value chain, supported by the government and coordinated by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). Pact members have identified eight problematic plastic items for elimination and are investigating further items. Defra want to build on both the progress being made by industry and our action on plastic waste. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/next-steps-to-tackle-plastic-waste
OFWAT’S SECOND WATER BREAKTHROUGH CHALLENGE This challenge is calling for initiatives to drive innovation and collaboration within the water sector and beyond – with the winning partnerships able to win a share of approximately £39 million. Following the successful partnerships formed in the first Water Breakthrough Challenge between water companies and the likes of conservation charities, technology giants and academia, the second challenge is encouraging even more creative partnerships, focused on all kinds of innovation – from cutting-edge technologies, to new ways for the water sector to collaborate and engage with customers. The Water Breakthrough Challenge is part of the water regulator’s pioneering £200m fund to unleash a wave of innovation in the water sector and deliver transformative benefits for consumers, society and the environment. It aims to encourage radical start up and scale up partnerships from both within and outside the water sector, tackling major issues such as achieving net zero, protecting natural ecosystems and reducing leakage, as well as taking opportunities to use open data and deliver value to society. This fund is especially for initiatives to drive the long-term transformation in the services water companies provide,drawing in new perspectives and fresh ideas from across the globe, and across the worlds of academia and business. The winners of the first round of the competition involved water companies partnering with the likes of Airbus, Microsoft, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), and the Rivers Trust. £9 million was awarded to projects that tackle the health of rivers and waterways, while a further £12.8 million was awarded to projects that will target the need to drastically reduce the emission of CO2 and other pollutants from the water treatment process. An additional £14.2 million was awarded to projects that aim to resolve challenges facing communities and vulnerable water users, as well as prevent leakages to reduce bills. For this round of the competition, there are two streams of funding: Catalyst Stream and the Transformation Stream. Find out more here
RIVERBANKS AND WATERCOURSES TO BE PLANTED WITH NEW WOODLAND This is a new project to plant extensive woodlands along England’s riverbanks to improve water quality, manage flood risk and boost biodiversity. Over 3,000 hectares of new woodlands are set to be planted along England’s rivers and watercourses with backing from the country’s leading environmental organisations. Planting trees on and around riverbanks, or allowing them to grow naturally, can help to improve water quality by blocking the runoff of pollutants into rivers, manage flood risks by slowing the flow of water, boost biodiversity by creating new habitat corridors and make our rivers more climate resilient by providing shade and cooling water temperatures. The Woodlands For Water project aims to create 3,150 hectares of trees in six river catchment areas from Devon to Cumbria by March 2025. To support farmers and landowners to create these woodlands, they will be able to apply for funding through the England Woodland Creation Offer grant which provides greater financial incentives for landowners and farmers to plant and manage trees, including along rivers and watercourses. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/riverbanks-and-watercourses-to-be-planted-with-new- woodland WATER COMPANIES COULD FACE LEGAL ACTION AFTER INVESTIGATION LAUNCHED INTO SEWAGE TREATMENT WORKS Major investigation announced by the Environment Agency and Ofwat into sewage treatment works. The Environment Agency (EA) and Ofwat have launched a major investigation into sewage treatment works, after new checks led to water companies admitting that they could be releasing unpermitted sewage discharges into rivers and watercourses. This investigation will involve more than 2000 sewage treatment works, with any company caught breaching their legal permits facing enforcement action, including fines or prosecutions. Fines can be up to 10% of annual turnover for civil cases, or unlimited in criminal proceedings. Read more here
WHOLESCAPE APPROACH TO MARINE MANAGEMENT (WAMM) Substantial knowledge gaps exist with respect to estuarine and coastal waters that include the lack of a comprehensive understanding of their current status, the key pressures they face both locally and from upstream, and the detrimental impacts that arise from these pressures. These knowledge gaps have been exacerbated to date by a relative piecemeal and silo approach, whereby integration across the land-sea interface has, typically, been limited. The Wholescape Approach to Marine Management project was established to address this issue, driving closer collaboration between the Catchment-Based Approach Partnerships, Coastal Partnerships and the Coastal Partnerships Network. In doing so, WAMM has helped to advance a ‘wholescape’ approach that links the coastal environment to the terrestrial and freshwater components upstream. The project has also identified the multiple and synergistic benefits that can arise from adopting a collaborative approach to estuarine and coastal waters, including the potential to deliver larger more holistic environmental projects that encompass a more diverse range of stakeholders. Read more here Access the road map here INTERNATIONAL NEWS BLUE PLANET FUND TO PROTECT THE WORLD’S OCEANS WITH MULTIMILLION BOOST FOR MARINE RECOVERY Projects to tackle climate change and protect the world’s oceans have been given a major boost with the first £16.2m of funding from the UK’s £500m Blue Planet Fund. The programmes, financed from the UK’s overseas aid budget, will increase marine protection, tackle plastic pollution and the decline of global coral reefs, as well as using the UK’s world- leading expertise to help respond to marine pollution disasters such as the X-press Pearl in Sri Lanka. The projects receiving funding include the launch of a new UK-led programme which will help developing countries partner with the UK’s world-leading scientists to better manage marine
protected areas, and improve our understanding of the impacts of climate change and contaminants in the ocean. Coral reefs support 25% of marine life and provide benefits to thousands of species – qualities that make them one of the world’s most valuable ecosystems. However, they are also extremely vulnerable to climate change and pollution. Today’s investment will support work by the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, Pacific and Southeast Asia by exploring techniques such as sewage treatment and the management of marine protected areas to help save these suffering ecosystems. Marine pollution, including plastic pollution, is a significant pressure on the marine environment – not only does it threaten key species and ecosystems in the world’s oceans, it also affects the health and livelihoods of those living in coastal regions. A share of the funding will also go towards the expansion of the Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP)’s pioneering work in developing countries and facilitate a united effort against plastic waste globally. Since its launch in 2018, GPAP secured a commitment by Indonesia to reduce 70% of mismanaged waste by 2025 and a commitment by Vietnam to reduce marine plastic waste by 75% by 2030, among others. Read more here NEW ‘BLUE SHIELD’ FOR UK OVERSEAS TERRITORIES TO DEFEND OCEANS The Blue Shield Programme is a new UK government initiative aimed at tackling the challenges of illegal fishing and unlawful marine activities around the UK Overseas Territories. It will help UK Overseas Territories strengthen the management and enforcement of their oceans. The Blue Shield Programme will identify and analyse activities that may impact the health and sustainability of Overseas Territories’ marine environments. Illegal fishing and overfishing can cause significant damage to marine environments threatening the sustainability of fish populations, ecosystems, and the livelihoods of those who fish legally. Effective monitoring and surveillance can help reduce those risks. Through the establishment of compliance and enforcement frameworks, Blue Shield will assist the territories to ensure their waters are protected and sustainably managed. Where
necessary, Blue Shield will also assist them to undertake enforcement action against non- compliance. Overseas Territories will also be supported through specialist training for on- island staff to build local capacity, as well as providing access to innovative surveillance and enforcement techniques. Read more here OPEN RIVERS PROGRAMME – RESTORING ENDANGERED EUROPEAN RIVERS The Open Rivers Programme offers grants to support projects that lead to the removal of small dams and the restoration of river flow and biodiversity. The creation of the Open Rivers Programme was informed by two years of research and stakeholder engagement which revealed that there are around one million dams fragmenting European rivers and that there is much potential and need for dam removal. European rivers are the most fragmented in the world which has led to the loss of many species and habitats. One of the biggest causes of river fragmentation is the presence of man-made barriers to river flow. Dam removal is a relatively cost effective and quick solution to restoring river continuity. This in turn can improve water quality, restore the diversity and abundance of life in rivers and their surrounding habitats, and increase habitat connectivity and resilience. With over one a million barriers in European rivers, there is a need to prioritise those that are removed. The programme’s focus will be to support organisations and communities working to restore rivers by funding dam removal projects that have the greatest possible impact on restoring river ecosystems. The programme will offer its first grants in February 2022 by supporting a selection of ‘ready to go’ dam removal projects that have been identified during its preparatory phase. A full launch of the programme and press release will take place in spring 2022 around the time of the first grant awards. www.openrivers.eu
PITCAIRN ISLANDS’ TINY PACIFIC COMMUNITY PUBLISHES
AMBITIOUS FIVE-YEAR MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR ITS VAST
MARINE PROTECTED AREA
The government of the Pitcairn Islands has published an ambitious five-year Marine
Protected Area (MPA) management plan to protect over 841,910 square km of ocean in one
of the most remote places on earth.
This plan will further protect the Pitcairn Islands’ untouched coral reefs and safeguard
threatened species such as the humpback whale, green turtles and seabirds such as the
Henderson Petrel.
Read more here
TEN EUROS OF BENEFIT FOR EVERY EURO INVESTED IN AN
MPA IN MALLORCA
Investing in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) pays off. This is the conclusion of an
investigation into the benefits of Mediterranean marine reserves for the economy and wider
society, commissioned by the Marilles Foundation and developed in collaboration with
Ecoacsa, the Balearic Center for Applied Biology (CBBA) and the British consultancy Eftec.
• The study reveals that for every euro invested annually in the MPA of Llevant generates
10 euros of benefit.
• This is the first time that a natural capital accounting methodology has been applied to a
Spanish marine protected area.
• A methodological guide has been published together with the investigation, to facilitate
the application of natural capital accounting to other marine protected areas.
Read more hereWHAT IS THE FUTURE FOR MONITORING EUROPE’S SURFACE WATERS? This new study assesses effectiveness and results from Water Framework Directive data. Data from over 8000 sites across 31 European countries has found that the monitoring of water quality and ecological risks has improved over time (from 2001 to 2015), but the water condition itself has worsened. The findings indicate an increasing chemical pressure from organic compounds on Europe’s water bodies – with pesticides as the main driver of risk for ecosystem damage and biodiversity loss. The study suggests that the minimal obligations for monitoring set out in the EU’s Water Framework Directive may need to be revisited, and there is a need for the reporting frequency of data quality to be harmonised across countries. Read more here PROJECTS AND RESEARCH AN ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL MACROINVERTEBRATE TRENDS FOR ENGLAND: 1991–2019 This report presents national-scale trends in the macroinvertebrate communities of English rivers over 29 years. Macroinvertebrates are monitored routinely as they are very good indicators of environmental quality. Understanding national invertebrate trends helps the Environment Agency to evaluate the effectiveness of management actions including changes to legislation, improved river quality standards and river restoration measures, against the impact of changing environmental pressures such agriculture, climate change, water abstraction and new chemicals. Source of information here Read the Summary Report
CLEANING RIVERS FROM PLASTIC POLLUTION WITH BUBBLES Despite the development of large scale and much advertised attempts to clear plastic from the ocean, a much more efficient method is to catch it before it even gets that far. The Dutch start-up The Great Bubble Barrier is a simple, yet effective method to catch plastic pollution in rivers before it flows to the ocean. By pressing air through a perforated tube, it creates an underwater bubble curtain. Placed over the full width and depth of a river, the Bubble Barrier catches plastic pollution without interfering with regular river activities. Read more here: https://thegreatbubblebarrier.com/ CLIMATE CHANGE MAY BE A SIGNIFICANT THREAT TO WORLD’S FRESH-WATER FISH Climate change poses a major threat to global biodiversity, yet fresh-water fish have been largely overlooked in climate-change assessments. This study presents a comprehensive appraisal of the threat from potential climate extremes, covering both water flow and temperature, to the world’s fresh-water fish. The results highlight a need to intensify national and international commitments to limit global warming. Read more here ESTABLISHED POPULATIONS OF INVASIVE ASIAN DATE MUSSELS FOUND IN THE GREATER NORTH SEA ECOREGION Recent research warns that these populations may pose challenges to aquaculture and ecosystems restoration. The Asian date mussel (Arcuatula senhousia) is an invasive species in European seas that, at high densities, can pose significant ecological and economic risks. These could include outcompeting other bivalves, altering sediment conditions and impacting seagrass growth. Ecologically and commercially important shellfish such as cockles and clams could also be affected. Researchers have confirmed the presence of this species – since at least 2011 – across the Solent region of southern England, part of the Greater North Sea ecoregion. Asian date mussels are ‘ecosystem engineers’, due to their ability to modify habitat by adding structure to the environment (in the form of their shells) and altering sediment conditions. At high densities of sometimes thousands per square metre, Asian date mussels can compete
with other species for space and food. However, the impacts of these mussels on commercially and ecologically important species and essential habitats in Europe are poorly understood. Read more here INCREASING LEVELS OF TOXIC METALS IN COASTAL SEDIMENTS HIGHLIGHT THE NEED – IN THE CONTEXT OF THE DEVELOPING BLUE ECONOMY – TO ADDRESS HIDDEN SOURCES OF THESE CONTAMINANTS Regulation and improved waste treatment have reduced marine pollution. However, some contaminants persist in coastal sediments. An analysis of data on UK sediments has shown that concentrations of some, including copper and nickel, are rising. Identifying the hidden sources, such as shipping, say the researchers, is critical for maintaining healthy seas, which underpin a growing blue economy. In recognition that ecologically important coastal regions have been heavily contaminated with trace elements from human activities, legislation aimed at clean and healthy waters (such as the EU Water Framework Directive) has been used to tackle pollutants. Whilst legislation and a shift in focus to microplastics might make trace-element contamination appear a legacy problem, data show that concentrations of some trace elements are increasing, pointing to an urgent need to assess current inputs. Read more here
NEW STUDY ESTIMATES THERE IS AT LEAST TEN TIMES MORE PLASTIC IN THE ATLANTIC THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT The mass of ‘invisible’ microplastics found in the upper waters of the Atlantic Ocean is approximately 12–21 million tonnes, according to research published in the journal Nature Communications. Significantly, this figure is only for three of the most common types of plastic litter in a limited size range. Yet, it is comparable in magnitude to estimates of all plastic waste that has entered the Atlantic Ocean over the past 65 years: 17 million tonnes. This suggests that the supply of plastic to the ocean have been substantially underestimated. The lead author of the paper, Dr Katsiaryna Pabortsava from the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), said ‘Previously, we couldn’t balance the mass of floating plastic we observed with the mass we thought had entered the ocean since 1950. This is because earlier studies hadn’t been measuring the concentrations of ‘invisible’ microplastic particles beneath the ocean surface. Our research is the first to have done this across the entire Atlantic, from the UK to the Falklands.’ Source of information here Read the paper https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-17932-9 PHARMACEUTICALS AND ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS: TRANSFER FROM WATER TO LAND ECOSYSTEMS Pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors increasingly contaminate the world’s freshwaters. New research provides direct evidence of their transfer from aquatic to terrestrial ecosystems via the consumption of aquatic insects by terrestrial predators such as spiders, birds and bats. This exposure may have negative impacts on the physiology and population dynamics of predators, suggesting a need for improved risk-assessment guidelines and practices. Read more here
UNDERSTANDING ECOSYSTEMS AND RESILIENCE USING DNA
This report explores opportunities for applying advances in DNA and RNA technologies to
improve understanding of ecosystem function and resilience.
Society relies on healthy ecosystems for food, clean water, raw material and recreation.
Information on those ecosystems, such as the functioning of organisms within them and their
response to environmental pressures, is needed to protect and restore ecosystems to good
health. Current understanding of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is limited by
available methods. DNA technologies that identify micro-organisms, animals and plants from
their genetic information can reveal much about the health of ecosystems and have
considerable potential to fill gaps in understanding.
The report contains a series of papers that explore the potential of DNA-based technology to
improve our understanding of ecosystem function and resilience.
Read the summary or full report here
PUBLICATIONS
21ST CENTURY RIVERS: FROM RECOVERY TO RENEWAL
Report from Water UK: Over much of the last 100 years our rivers have been in a state of
crisis. The water industry has played a leading part in the fight-back, but the truth is that this
is not enough. Now we’re calling for a new deal for rivers in England. Find out about the
actions we’re taking and our ten recommendations.
The ten recommendations:
1. A National Plan for Rivers 6. Support for People
2. Protection in Law 7. Prioritising Nature
3. Local Empowerment 8. Abstraction
4. Accountability 9. Storm Overflows
5. Next-Generation Monitoring 10. Bathing Rivers
https://www.water.org.uk/rivers/
Read the report https://www.water.org.uk/rivers/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/report.pdf£BILLIONS OF BENEFITS FROM RIVERS AND LAKES QUANTIFIED FOR THE FIRST TIME A new report by the Rivers Trust finds that England’s rivers, canals, lakes and ponds provide annual fisheries economic benefits in excess of £1.7 billion, plus numerous wider health and biodiversity benefits. Read the report here BLUEPRINT FOR WATER – ACTIONS TO RECOVER ENGLAND’S WATERS AND WILDLIFE 21 nature organisations are calling for urgent measures to help lift England’s rivers, lakes and streams from the bottom of the water quality league table, and warn that drastic action is needed to restore wildlife habitat. Every freshwater body in England currently fails chemical standards and only 16% are classed in good ecological health compared to 53% on average in the EU. A report by Wildlife and Countryside Link’s Blueprint for Water group, warns that climate change is worsening conditions for our already beleaguered waters. Increased water-use during droughts and damage caused by flooding, which are both becoming more frequent due to climate change, are compounding the existing problems of overuse and chemical, sewage and plastic pollution for our waters. Extract from Executive Summary: Our ‘water future’ needs to be one of vibrant, much bigger and better-connected aquatic landscapes, full of clean water and thriving wildlife. From protected sites, right through to those in our farmed countryside and towns and cities, waters and wetlands must be better cared for, expanded, and created, to secure the benefits – and delights – that a healthy water environment should deliver. This is our vision for the freshwater environment. To achieve this, we must: • Recover Biodiversity through large-scale, strategic habitat restoration, protecting and enhancing biodiversity hotspots such as our internationally valuable chalk streams. • Drive Down Pollution with an effective and fully resourced monitoring and enforcement regime, driven by ambitious targets to tackle pollution and address the water quality crisis.
• Re-think Our Relationship With Water to build a sustainable relationship with our blue spaces, delivering climate resilience, water security, and health and well-being benefits for our communities. https://www.wcl.org.uk/docs/WCL_Blueprint_for_Water_Vision_Report.pdf CHALK STREAM STRATEGY The Catchment-Based Approach Chalk Stream Restoration Group has launched its first Chalk Stream Strategy – which calls for chalk streams in England to be given enhanced environmental status. Chalk streams are among the most biodiverse of the UK’s rivers. Nearly all the world’s chalk streams are in England and they represent one of the UK’s most important contributions to global biodiversity. These clear-watered streams are a valuable habitat for Atlantic salmon, sea trout, grayling and lamprey, for otters, water voles and kingfishers, for rare invertebrates such as the winterbourne stonefly, and plants like stream water crowfoot. To achieve the goal of the 25-year Environment Plan and leave the natural environment in a better state than we found it, we must address the multiple threats to the ecological health of our chalk streams. Most of our chalk streams flow through landscapes heavily impacted by agriculture and urban development. They are threatened by water abstraction which denudes the natural flow, by pollution from sewage, farming and roads, by invasive species, and by habitat degradation: canalisation, siltation, ditching and the many barriers built at locks, watermills and culverts. The chalk-streams restoration strategy is a comprehensive, up-to-date analysis of the issues threatening chalk streams in England, of the ways in which ecological pressures are assessed and regulated. It includes multiple pragmatic recommendations to bring about the ecological recovery and good health of our chalk streams. These recommendations represent a broad consensus among the working group of the nature and scale of the threats and problems and of the necessary solutions. It gives clear justifications, direction and guidance to government and businesses, water companies, Rivers Trusts and stakeholders. Where recommendations are within the gift of the working group, progress is already underway: in planning for the flagship restoration projects, for example. Some recommendations have been delivered, such as the designation of all chalk regions as
water-stressed. Otherwise, recommendations are now in a scoping phase and will be
reviewed and – if carried forward – planned over the following months. An implementation
plan will be published in October 2022.
Read more here
Read the Executive Summary
Read the Full Report
CHALLENGES FOR THE WATER ENVIRONMENT – VARIOUS
REPORTS FROM GOV.UK
In addition to the two (mercury and nitrates) mentioned in full in this edition of Environmental
News Highlights, a list of reports has been published (in Research & Analysis of the gov.uk
website), covering:
• Phosphorous • Invasive non-native species
• Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) • Agricultural and rural land
• Cypermethrin management
• Mine waters • Towns, cities and transport
• Biodiversity • The climate emergency
• European site protected arueas • Water levels and flows
• Drinking water protected areas • Polybrominated diphenyl ethers
• Physical modifications (PBDEs)
• Pollution from water industry • Fine sediment
wastewater • Plastics
• Faecal contamination • Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
• Chemicals
Search for the item and the phrase ‘challenges for the water environment’ and you will
find the approriate link.CREATE PONDS AND LAKES This guidance from Defra is for finding out how land managers can create new clean freshwater ponds and lakes to benefit wildlife and improve the landscape. Contents • About ponds and lakes • Permission and legal requirements • How to create ponds and lakes • Manage newly created ponds and lakes • How you’ll know if you’re successful https://www.gov.uk/guidance/create-ponds-and-lakes ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT ON WATER QUALITY IN RIVERS Excerpt from the report summary: Getting a complete overview of the health of our rivers and the pollution affecting them is hampered by outdated, underfunded and inadequate monitoring regimes. It is clear, however, that rivers in England are in a mess. A ‘chemical cocktail’ of sewage, agricultural waste, and plastic is polluting the waters of many of the country’s rivers. Water companies appear to be dumping untreated or partially treated sewage in rivers on a regular basis, often breaching the terms of permits that on paper only allow them to do this in exceptional circumstances. Farm slurry and fertiliser run off is choking rivers with damaging algal blooms. Single use plastic sanitary products – often coated with chemicals that can harm aquatic life – are clogging up drains and sewage works and creating ‘wet wipe reefs’ in rivers. Revolting ‘fatbergs’ as big as blue whales are being removed from sewers, costing companies and their customers in the region of £100 million a year. Not a single river in England has received a clean bill of health for chemical contamination. Disturbing evidence suggests they are becoming breeding grounds for antimicrobial resistance. Read the report here
GOOD FISH GUIDE FOR BUSINESS: A NEW TOOL HELPING TO SOURCE SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD The Marine Conservation Society have launched a new tool to help businesses source more sustainable seafood for their customers. The Good Fish Guide for Business is a new online portal that allows businesses, chefs, or anyone working in the seafood supply chain, to find out which fish or shellfish are the most environmentally responsible choice. With 39% of people who buy seafood referencing ‘familiarity’ as an important consideration to buying seafood in a supermarket, chefs and businesses have a huge opportunity to introduce exciting sustainable seafood species to their consumers. Businesses can now log into a portal and save their seafood, generating a chart outlining how environmentally responsible their sourcing is, based on the Good Fish Guide’s traffic light system. This information can be downloaded for an easy-to-use snapshot of where businesses are in their journey to responsible sourcing, and help them to work on improvements with their suppliers. The Guide also suggests Sustainable Alternatives, allowing chefs and businesses to see similar species that have better environmental credentials. https://www.mcsuk.org/news/good-fish-guide-for-business-a-new-tool-helping-to-source- sustainable-seafood/ INTERNATIONAL GUIDELINES ON NATURAL AND NATURE- BASED FEATURES (NNBF) FOR FLOOD RISK MANAGEMENT The International Guidelines on NNBF for Flood Risk Management provide practitioners with the best available information concerning the conceptualization, planning, design, engineering, construction, and maintenance of NNBF to support resilience and flood risk reduction for coastlines, bays, and estuaries, as well as river and freshwater systems. https://ewn.erdc.dren.mil/?page_id=4351
MERCURY: CHALLENGES FOR THE WATER ENVIRONMENT
The report describes:
• the use of mercury, its sources and pathways into the water environment
• measured levels of mercury in the water environment and the trends that have been
identified
• the control measures for mercury emissions and restrictions for the use of mercury in
products.
Read the report here
NATURAL CAPITAL OF FRESHWATER FISHERIES IN ENGLAND
This report was published by The Rivers Trust. Here’s an excerpt from the Executive
Summary:
England’s freshwater natural capital includes 47,600 km of rivers, 492 km2 of lakes and
standing waters and 178 km2 of ponds and several thousand km of canals. The condition of
our fisheries and the benefits we gain from them depend on the condition of these rivers,
canals, lakes and ponds. These water bodies provide enjoyment for a million anglers with
annual economic benefits in excess of £1.7 billion.
This report details the natural capital account that we have developed for freshwater
fisheries in England. We include all freshwater fisheries (including salmon, trout, grayling and
coarse fish), the ecosystem services they provide and the benefits to recreational anglers,
the wider economy and commercial fisheries (excluding aquaculture). The natural capital
approach is central to the government’s 25 Year Environment Plan.
We aim to develop natural capital accounts for freshwater fisheries at different scales
(national, River Basin District, river, etc). Our work will be consistent with Defra guidance on
‘enabling a natural capital approach’ and will provide effective decision support as policy and
decision makers at all levels work to restore our natural capital.
Read the report hereYou can also read
