By providing and enhancing nature-based solutions, the restoration of wild nature can help us address some of society's greatest challenges.
As "nature's engineers", beavers can be useful partners in flood mitigation.
A growing realisation
In the UK's newest national park, the restoration of landscapes and wildlife populations is generating a range of benefits.
Boosting resilience
The South Downs are often referred to as the lungs of southeast England - a bucolic swathe of greenery edged by an iconic coastal margin. Gently undulating hills, dazzling chalk cliffs, wildflower-filled ancient woodlands - the stunning landscapes of Sussex and Hampshire are what attract so many people to live and visit.
In 2016 The Mammal Society Mitigation Guidance Series published the new Water Vole Mitigation Handbook. This publication aims to promote best practice in the surveying and mitigation of water voles by ecological consultants, and to guide and inform decision makers that suitable survey information is provided and suitable mitigation measures proposed (Dean et al., 2016).
The new mitigation guidelines include some key changes to:
· Licensing in relation to the ‘displacement’ of water voles
The year started with the launch of one of our largest native woodland planting projects this year. As part of the Gatwick Airport Flood Alleviation Scheme, Ecosulis’ HCEC Team were asked to conduct a five-year habitat creation and maintenance program for the Environment Agency in Crawley. Our task for the first phase of works in 2016, was to plant over 4,500 trees and shrubs to create a new woodland habitat that would be beneficial to the Dormice that have been found in adjacent woodland around the site.
After the wettest winter on record and widespread flooding across the UK, Alastair Driver (the National Biodiversity Manager of the Environment Agency) took to twitter to highlight the efforts into Natural Flood Management research across the UK. Some of the facts tweeted include -
The term ‘great crested newt mitigation’ usually triggers images of miles of expensive plastic fencing and pitfall traps. However, consideration to green infrastructure can provide higher quality mitigation for development schemes, and could be a better use of resources.
A study has been compiled for the Biodiversity 2020 Terrestrial Biodiversity Group (TBG) which focused on 159 National Character Areas and the potential to add or restore habitats within these sites. As well as looking at how to achieve this, they assessed prescriptions to ensure that habitats could be restored without environmental conflicts of interest (for example saltmarsh creation on the same space as floodland grazing).
Recently Defra has published the “Natural Environment White Paper Implementation Update” (or NEWP). This looks at the progress that has been made since the last White Paper that was produced in December 2012 and the steps that the government has made to improve natural environments.
The paper notes a number of improvements including-
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee has launched an inquiry into implementing the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). This inquiry aims to assess how current policy works and whether it benefits the environment, whist ensuring that food production can be properly maintained.