Natural England

19 November 2008

Natural England announces £2m boost for England’s wetlands

England’s threatened wetlands – vital habitats for a wide range of insect, plant and other animal species and key to water supply and flood alleviation in many areas – received a boost today (Wednesday 19 November) as Natural England announced £2m of funding for a series of wetland habitat recreation projects led by a range of organisations over the next year.

Most of England’s once wide ranging wetlands have disappeared and many plants, animals and insects – including the fen orchid, snipe and the great silver water beetle - which rely on watery habitats, are in decline as a result.

Today’s funding announcement is made at a major biodiversity conference held at the Natural History Museum in London, hosted by Natural England and attended by major stakeholders from the conservation sector.

Speaking at today’s conference, Dr Helen Phillips, Chief Executive of Natural England, said: “To guarantee the long term survival of our wildlife, we need to address the environmental health of entire landscapes, focusing on wide-scale restoration of habitats and ecosystems. Our focus has to be on the underlying causes of biodiversity loss rather than just treating the symptoms in isolation.”

At the conference, Natural England and Defra outlined a new framework for delivering the England Biodiversity Strategy. Moving beyond the traditional focus on protection of individual species or isolated sites, the strategy looks to tackle biodiversity recovery at a much wider geographical scale, focusing on the restoration of ecosystems - like wetlands – as the platform on which habitat and species richness can be supported.

Wetlands support a wide range of species – many of which are now rare or threatened – and they can also provide free, less visible services that are often taken for granted, such as water storage, flood prevention and clean water supplies. Most of England’s wetlands have been destroyed over the centuries and many of those that remain are now too small to survive on their own.

Helen Phillips continued, “Wetlands are a perfect example of how we should think big to reverse habitat losses, restore biodiversity and achieve other environmental gains. Today’s £2m funding will be an important step in reviving the fortunes of these crucial habitats”.

Today’s funding follows the launch in July this year of the 50 year Vision for Wetlands, by the Wetland Vision Partnership, an alliance of conservationists committed to managing and enhancing England’s wetland areas. The partners in the Wetland Vision include the RSPB, The Wildlife Trusts, the Environment Agency and English Heritage.