March 2017
Around the world, Governments and NGOs are working to improve people’s access to clean water. At WWT, our focus is on finding natural solutions to problems of water sanitation: enhancing nature to deliver clean water. For example, in Laos, pollutants from the capital city are contaminating drinking water, killing wildlife and affecting agriculture and fisheries. We are working with local partners to construct treatment wetlands that naturally filter the water, so that wonderful habitats like That Luang Marsh can be restored, giving people the clean water they need for drinking, cooking and growing.
At WWT, we call this a Working Wetland.
Imagine if a candidate for a job offered a CV listing practical expertise in “healthcare”, “sanitation”, “wildlife”, “agriculture” and “climate change mitigation”. Of course, we would pay them for the service! Yet as a society, we remain unwilling to pay for these benefits when they are provided by nature, even when they represent brilliant value.
That’s why WWT has launched a Working Wetlands Survey. We are gathering examples of wetlands that have been created to help manage flooding or reduce pollution. We aim to gather the best available evidence on how well these wetlands work and how far they support biodiversity and deliver multiple benefits for people. We will make this information available towards the end of 2017 through case studies and a survey report.
If you know a relevant example, from a downpipe pond in the heart of Manchester, to a massive coastal realignment project protecting our shores, please do take the survey, or contact our working wetlands scientist, Dr Chloe Hardman, who is leading the work.
In the UK we have lost most of our wetlands. We have polluted most of our rivers. We are only just learning how much investing in nature can support safer, healthier communities, as well as a sustainable economy. The Government’s Natural Capital Committee found benefits of up to 9:1 for creating as much as 100,000 hectares of wetlands in the UK.
We hope that by demonstrating the power of wetlands to deliver benefits to people, we can help communities in the UK - and around the world - to make the case for protecting and extending wetlands large and small. In the UK, the results of the Working Wetlands Survey will help make the case for sustainable drainage and “blue space” in our towns and cities, to protect against surface water flooding and create beautiful places. At the other end of the scale, we will be making the case for large scale wetland restoration and creation, from peatland restoration to coastal wetlands.
If you follow the link to the survey, you can see a map of some of the wonderful working wetlands projects that we’ve already found, from the (brilliantly named) Frogshall Wetland in Norfolk and Snape Wetlands in Suffolk, to the Stonebridge Wild River Reserve on the Kennet, or the Briargrove SuDs in Inverness. These projects are beginning to create a picture of the variety and scale of networks of wetlands across the country.
These lessons can help us achieve our UK ambition to restore nature for the next generation and even play some part in delivering our global responsibilities and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Of course, wetlands are just one habitat type. At WWT, we recognise the rich variety of benefits that all kinds of nature can deliver. We applaud the work of the Woodland Trust in mapping the benefits that trees can bring in reducing flooding. We commend the work of the Wildlife Trusts on ecological network mapping. We love the work of Friends of the Earth and Buglife on pollinators and beelines. The Wildlife and Countryside Link family is full of examples of how different habitat types can help us.
We think the Government should plan for large-scale habitat creation and restoration. From our towns and cities, to our countryside and coastline, investing in nature should be part of an ambitions 25 year environment plan. Natural capital valuation and ecological opportunity mapping should be applied to a range of different habitat types to guide investment. This would help to target spending on locally-appropriate solutions, taking into account the full range of costs and benefits, supporting nature, and delivering more for people with every pound.
But today, on World Water Day, we hope you will join us in our focus on the power of wetlands. They support amazing species. They can be the most beautiful places. And, as we are finally realising and you can help us show, they can support sustainable livelihoods too, here at home and all around the world.
Richard Benwell
Head of Government Affairs, Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust
Find Richard on Twitter @RSBenwell
The opinions expressed in this blog are the author’s and not necessarily those of the wider Link membership.
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