glen cooper natural england

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Implementing the WFD - Natural England’s response

to the challenge

Glen Cooper, Senior Specialist - Water Programmes

Outline• Context: (Briefly)Natural England’s role and

purpose • Context : (Briefly) Highlight some of the issues &

challenges for the water environment from Natural England’s perspective

• How we are rising to the Challenge: Examples of the range of our work with partners that contributes to WFD objectives

• Challenges for now and the future – Delivering for WFD and the wider environment

Context: Natural England’s Purpose

Natural England is the government’s independent adviser on the natural environment. Our work is focused on enhancing England’s wildlife and landscapes and maximising the benefits they bring to the public.

Context: some of our key responsibilities

Responsible for protection and enhancement of 4000+ of England’s key wildlife & geological sites

Designate and advise on National Parks, AONBs & Marine Conservation Zones.

Run Agri-Environment & other schemes to deliver over £400m/yr to farmers & landowners to enhance the natural environment across two thirds of England’s farmland. 

Fund, manage, & provide expertise for hundreds of conservation projects to support species & habitats.

Promote access to the wider countryside, including helping fund & establish National and coastal trails

Provision of scientific expertise, advice, research

Context: Freshwater and intertidal designated site condition

Lowland freshwater habitatsDon’t forget Upland bogs &

intertidal ....

Water dependent Natura sites: Some key adverse condition reasons by AREA - Freshwater and TRaC waters

Water dependent Natura Protected Areas- progress toward 2012, 2015 & recovery

Examples of Natural England’s work programmes contributing to WFD

• WFD Defra Funded Programme • Conservation & Enhancement Scheme• Agri-Environment Schemes• Catchment Sensitive Farming• Advice on investment through water Co.

price review process• Work supporting catchment solutions, pilots

& the ecosystem services approach • Evidence work eg. UK WFD TAG

WFD Defra Funded Programme

• Natural England one of main delivery bodies for £110m of Defra funding to achieve WFD objectives

• 2010-11 Programme: 100+ Projects across range of WFD objectives including

River, lake and Natura wetland restoration projects Non-Native Invasive species partnerships & control

programmes Restoration and research to improve TRaC water habitats Diffuse Water Pollution plan development and action

• Funding for Projects continues for 2012-2015

Natural England led/funded projects under the new WFD funding - 2011

New WFD funding : Natural England Supports Cumbria NNIS partnership

• http://www.scrt.co.uk/cfinns/freshwater-biosecurity

Supporting the Cumbria NNIS partnership

Partnership River Restoration Projects

River Avon

River Derwent

River Restoration Plans

Contribution of Agri-Environment

• Environmental Stewardship – A multi-objective scheme: Wildlife, landscape, historic environment, resource protection, public access and understanding

Entry Level (ELS) and Higher Level Schemes (HLS) Most options for soil & water protection in ELS Also opportunities to deliver WFD outcomes both

directly and in synergy with other scheme objectives

> Targeting at priority areas, and advice on good practice through NEs “ELS Training and Information Project” & CFE

Area of land under Agri-Env contributing to water quality maintenance & improvement:

(from: Defra Mid-Term Evaluation of RDPE 2010)

Agri-Env Scheme options addressingDiffuse Water Pollution

From “Agri-environment schemes in England 2009:A review of results and effectiveness’, NE, 2009.

Take up of key resource protection measures in agri-environment schemes (2009)

ELS options

HLS options

Classics Total

Grass buffer strips in arable land (ha) 44,377 1,640 27,695 73,713

Grass buffer strips in arable land (km) 59,658 1,953 55,159 116,771

Cropped buffer strips in arable land (ha) 1,573 1,687 4,140 7,401

Arable reversion to grassland (ha) n/a 2,152 30,468 32,620

Buffer strips in grassland (ha) 3,291 7 n/a 3,298 Management of high erosion risk cultivated land (ha)

8,923 n/a n/a 8,923

Management of maize crops to reduce soil erosion (ha) (new from 2009)

9,217 n/a n/a 9,217

eg of ELS/HLS written advice to address Diffuse Water Pollution...

Multi-Objective Environmental Stewardship: Delivering a suite of Environmental Outcomes including WFD : Case Study: Knepp Castle, Sussex

Multi-Objective Environmental Stewardship: Delivering a suite of Environmental Outcomes including WFD : Case Study: Knepp Castle, Sussex

• Organic ELS/HLS agreement• Lowland ‘re-wilding’• Biodiversity and Habitats – eg. Bats, wet

grassland • Historic Environment Interest• Native Breed conservation• Landscape restoration ; Re-establish a

floodplain • River Adur Restoration - WFD objectives

River Adur & floodplain Restoration

Wetland Vision

Aim: Develop a 50-year Vision for England’s freshwater wetlands

England’s wetland landscapes: Securing a future for nature, people and the historic environment

3 Headline Maps

‘Where wetlands were’(from soils data)

’Future wetlands’- priority areas for potential wetlands

‘Where wetlands are today’

Wetland Vision- Analysis, Mapping, Potential Restoration

• £ 6m from Natural England (2008-11) to help achieve vision + £3.9 million by partners

• Many wetlands encompass WFD waterbodies, or• are water-dependent Natura sites, and / or• are fundamental to achieving good status for surface

and groundwaters

• NE’s 4 priority projects being developed into catchment & landscape scale ‘Nature Improvement’ & ‘Integrated Biodiversity Delivery Areas’

> See: http://www.wetlandvision.org.uk/

Wetland Vision Delivery & WFD

Catchment Sensitive Farming

• A partnership between Natural England the Environment Agency , & Farmers

•Part of response to achieve WFD requirements and other designated site outcomes

•Aims to raise awareness of diffuse water pollution from agriculture, and to encourage early voluntary action by farmers to tackle the problem in 50 CSF catchments.

50 CSF Catchments – Covering +1m Ha

CSF – Mechanisms and Evaluation

• Mechanisms include: Free training and advice - 1:1 & events Capital Works Grant Fund: Over £30m in grants for capital

works since 2006 (limit of £10K holding) Partnerships with CFE, Pesticide Voluntary Initiative, ADAS,

NFU, NGOs, Water companies etc.

• Evaluation of the first 5 years of CSF shows that: CSF advice has been delivered to over 9,000 farms 64% of farms have implemented more than half of the

recommendations to reduce water pollution monitored pollutant levels have reduced by up to 30% in

some sub catchments (catchment and pollutant specific)

http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/farming/csf/evaluation.aspx

Advice on investment under Water Co. Periodic Reviews : eg PR09

• 22 billion – overall capital investment by Water Industry• £4.5 billion – overall investment in the environment

For N2K, SSSIs and BAP, worked closely with EA to secure:Improvements to water resources – 61 sites - £72.9 million

Improvements to water quality – 66 sites - £119.5 million

Water Company Catchment schemes – 108 schemes (projects & investigations) - £54.7 million

These investments and schemes delivering for designated site & WFD objectives

Now working toward PR14 ....

Evidence and Expert Advice Provision

Natural England contribute to work by WFD UK Technical Advisory Group: eg Standards

• Much work toward aligning designated site Conservation objectives and WFD standards

• Good progress has been made in a number of areas:Trigger values for groundwater quality and wetlands; Non Native Species in Rivers; hydrology standards for lakes ; Specific Pollutants;

• Work progressing on challenging areas including P standard and flow targets in rivers. Natural England have contributed to the evidence review.

• http://www.wfduk.org

Delivering Nature’s Services – Natural England’s Ecosystem Service Pilots

Developing the Catchment based approach

• Turning ecosystem services concept into delivery: A catchment approach

• 3 upland pilots – now proposed NIA’s

• Stakeholder involvement from the ground up

• Aim to show how integrated working with partners & land managers, can provide ecosystem services and farming business opportunities

eg: Bassenthwaite and Haweswater Pilot : Key projected outcomes

• Delivery plan for improvements in Water quality, carbon storage, potential flood risk reduction, recreation & tourism

• Catchment waters feed Natura Freshwater Lakes >improved condition in both, & peatland habitats restored: WFD

• Cleaner water to 2.6m people’s drinking water, supplied by UU• Land management change through HLS, FC WG & Utd. Utils.

• Applying lessons learnt, to other catchments to deliver WFD and wider ecosystem & socio-economic objectives in synergy (NE Research report due soon)

Future Challenges - (½ glass empty?)

• Perturbed water-dependent ecosystems can take a long time to recover, even with significant effort and investment

• Achieving WFD requirements for water-dependent ‘Natura’ sites (and other protected areas) by 2015 - v. challenging

• Ensuring that all water bodies & groundwaters meet good status/potential by 2027 (end 3rd RBMP cycle)

• Understanding and applying lessons from the various catchment initiatives and pilots in time to influence current and future rounds of River Basin Plans, and PR14 process

• Ensuring that delivery of WFD works in synergy with the the EBS, and landscape scale initiatives such as NIA’s

• Understanding how climate change impacts our ability to deliver

..but also opportunities.. ½ glass full!

• Natural England has key role working with partners to ensure improvement for designated sites, & deliver wider landscape, biodiversity and ecosystem benefits, in synergy with achieving objectives of the WFD

• Importance of need for holistic approaches to restore and improve the water environment is being recognised through development of catchment pilots & ecosystem approaches, & work driven by the NEWP, WWP and Water co. programmes

• WFD & designated site drivers leading to real investment, research and on-ground delivery in the water environment – with significant benefits for society and the wider natural environment.

Thank You

Glen CooperFreshwater Programmes Specialist

Land Use Strategy & Environmental Specialists Unit

glen.cooper@naturalengland.org.uk07795 952839

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Context: Freshwater designated sites: Key reasons for adverse condition

Water pollution, Water level management (inc. drainage) & Invasive species = the most significant pressures (by area)