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CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
River SSSIs:
Prioritising Steps on the Road to Recovery
Joanna Eyquem MCIWEM CEnv
30th April 2009
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
(1) What is the scale of the task?• Condition of SSSIs.
• Condition of river SSSIs.• Hydromorphological pressures on our rivers.
Presentation Structure
(2) How can we target resources? • Need for prioritisation.
• A tried and tested approach.
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
Sites of Special Scientific Interest
• >4000 sites in England• 7% land area
• 44 rivers with at least a part notified as SSSI
• > 2,500 km of river length (7881ha).
• Whole-river SSSIs
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
SSSI Public Service Agreement
2004…
…2010“Bring into favourable or recovering (target)
condition 95% of the area
of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs)
in England by 2010”
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
Progress since 2004 (all SSSIs)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Year
% in
Ta
rge
t C
on
dit
ion
Trajectory Actual
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
Progress since 2004 (all SSSIs)
62.967.4
72.375.4
82.785.98
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Year
% in
Ta
rge
t C
on
dit
ion
Trajectory Actual
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
Condition March 2009 (all SSSIs)
44.38%
41.60%
9.50%
4.47% 0.05%
Area favourable
Area unfavourablerecovering
Area unfavourable nochange
Area unfavourabledeclining
Area destroyed / partdestroyed
85.98% Meeting PSA Target Condition
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
State of the Environment 2008
Account for only 0.7% of designated SSSI area(total SSSI area = 1,076,986 ha)
River and Streams
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
Improvement in 2009?
• Investing in the East of England’s natural assets (16th April 2009)
91%
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
Hydromorphological pressures
Fine sedimentation
River Hull Headwaters, Yorkshire
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
Hydromorphological pressures
Channelisation and disconnection from floodplain
Bubwith 1935: Pre widening Bubwith 1935 – Post widening
River Derwent, Yorkshire
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
Hydromorphological pressures
Inappropriate bankside structure
River Axe, Devon
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
Hydromorphological pressures
River Avon, Wiltshire
In-channel structures
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
Hydromorphological pressures
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000
Chainage Downstream (m)
Ele
vati
on
(m
AO
D)
Surveyed Water Level (Oct 02 with stopboards) Agreed Summer Water Levels Bed Elevation
In-channel structures
River Beult, Kent
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
Mechanisms for improving SSSI Rivers
• Biodiversity Outcome Measureso Sites of Special Scientific Interest (OM4)o Biodiversity Action Plan priority habitats (OM5)
• Chalk rivers, fens, floodplain grazing marsh, lowland meadows, reedbed, wet woodland
• Water Level Management Plans
• Strategic SSSI Restoration Plans
• Hydromorphological mitigation measures for WFD
Now is the time for action, but where do we start?
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
The need for prioritisation
Limited resourcesFunding
ManpowerTime
Many potential actions to improve 1800km of river
Action plan to work towards“favourable condition” for riverine SSSIs.
Current prioritisation
based on “Area vs Cost”
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
Prioritisation approach
Secondary benefits
Ease of Implementation
Area vs Cost
Timescale required
Technical Effectiveness
Prioritisation Ranking
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
Technical Effectiveness
• Sustainability
• Certainty in delivering favourable condition
• River AND floodplain habitat improvement
• Upstream/downstream benefits
• “No regrets” / quick wins
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
Secondary Benefits
• SAC / other environmental features (not necessarily within designated SSSI)
• Flood risk management.
• Other enhancement initiatives.
• Public amenity & access
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
Ease of Implementation
• Landowner support
• Requirement for legal consents
• Existing initiatives
• Low risk / high certainty
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
Timescales of implementation
2009…
…2010
Short, Medium and Long term actions
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
• River “area”+ Floodplain area
• Upstream/downstream benefit to SSSI?
• Design, construction and maintenance cost
Area vs Cost
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
Weightings
Ease of Implementation
10%
Timescale for implementation
10%
Secondary benefits
10%
Area of SSSI vs cost (£/ha improved)
20%
Technical Effectiveness
Score50%
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
Lessons learnt
• Subjectivityo Prioritisation developed and agreed by project team.o Consistency check required.
• Limited control on influence of third parties.
• Flexibility of programme reduces over time.
• The measured “area” of benefit is low for SSSI rivers.
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
Headlines (1) Scale of the task
• Riverine SSSIs are our best rivers, but o 72% of designated river is in unfavourable condition. o Only 2% of rivers are designated.
• Historic and widespread channel modification means that the scale of the task is challenging!
• Hydromorphology is one key pressure.
CIWEM Annual Conference, 30th April 2009
Headlines (2) Targeting resources
• There are currently several high profile drivers, that we can use to improve riverine SSSIs in the short, medium and long-term.
• Current prioritisation of actions is undertaken on an “Area vs Cost” basis - rivers only account for 0.7% of SSSI by area in England.
• A more balanced prioritisation approach has been developed for SSSI rivers, which could be applied more widely.