Conservationists unite to restore Britain’s parched wetlands

£2 million a year for restoring bogs and ponds
Lewis Smith, The Times 7 Jul 08;

Thousands of acres of bog and ponds are to be recreated as part of an initiative to restore ancient wetlands to the landscape.

Wetlands, whether sparkly blue water or boot-suckingly squelchy marsh, were once a common feature of the countryside, but most have been drained, dried and developed out of existence. A map showing the extent of prehistoric wetlands has been drawn up by conservationists to help to identify the best places to reestablish them. A second map shows the quantity of wetland habitat surviving today and areas where they can best be recreated over the next 50 years.

Wetlands form an invaluable home for a wide range of animals and plants, many of them rare, and the loss of the habitat has severely squeezed their population numbers. Some, such as the large copper butterfly, have already been wiped out in Britain.

Wetlands also fulfil important roles for human life by soaking up huge quantities of water, dramatically reducing the risk of flooding in surrounding areas, and in offsetting climate change by acting as carbon sinks.

Conservation groups and government agencies have joined forces to develop Wetland Vision, which will map out the potential for restoring lost marshes, fens, ponds and lakes. The partnership, including bodies such as Natural England and The Wildlife Trusts, wants to reverse the loss that has seen the destruction of 90 per cent of the freshwater wetlands that were in England when William the Conqueror invaded.

Previous generations were driven to drain wetlands and to engineer the flow of rivers to provide themselves with extra fields for crops and livestock, and dry land where they could build homes and businesses. Housing and industrial developments caused further fragmentation of wetlands.

Up to £2 million a year will be spent over the next three years by Natural England to bring back bogs and other wetland habitats. The meres and mosses of the West Midlands, the fens of South Lincolnshire, and the peatlands of the Humberhead Levels will be among areas where they will return.

Rare plants to benefit from restoration schemes are expected to be fen violet, fen ragwort and fen orchid, which only survive in a few locations.

Bitterns are among the rare birds likely to carve out new territory with the creation of more wetlands, as are snipe and redshank. Of the threatened species of invertebrates, the great silver diving beetle and marsh fritillary butterfly are likely to enjoy an important boost to their numbers.

Much of the wetland recreation will be based on achievements at the Great Fen Project in Cambridgeshire, which provides a blueprint on how to restore the habitat while balancing the needs and demands of neighbouring interests, notably farms. Work is under way there to form a 3,700-hectare fen between Huntingdon and Peterborough. It incorporates land that boasted the largest lake in England outside Cumbria until it was drained in the 19th century - today it has dried out so much that the land lies 14ft below its level less than a century ago.

Stopping water escaping from former wetland areas by blocking drains and ditches is one of the main tasks when recreating the habitat, along with landscaping and replanting. Before carrying out the work, delicate negotiations have usually to take place to ensure that neighbouring farms and businesses are not adversely affected, such as by having water back up on to their land.

Wetlands can also be created in tandem with quarrying. The biggest reed-bed creation scheme in Europe is part of the Great Ouze Wetland, where the RSPB and Hanson Aggregates are in partnership to create landscaped lakes in a sand and gravel quarry.

Carrie Hume, the Wetland Vision project manager, said the creation of the maps showing the past, present and possible future of wetland areas signalled a “change in ambition” for conservationists anxious to improve the landscape.

“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,” she said.

Rob Cunningham, of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, added: “We are not looking to turn back the clock, but to establish a place for wetlands at a time when demands on our land are increasing.”