1. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th April 2009 River SSSIs: Prioritising Steps on the Road to Recovery Joanna Eyquem MCIWEM CEnv 30 th April 2009

2. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th 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.

3. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th 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

4. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th 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”

5. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th April 2009 (1) What is the scale of the task?

6. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th April 2009 Progress since 2004 (all SSSIs)

7. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th April 2009 Progress since 2004 (all SSSIs)

8. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th April 2009 Condition March 2009 (all SSSIs) 85.98% Meeting PSA Target Condition

9. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th April 2009 Condition of Open Waters

10. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th 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

11. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th April 2009 Improvement in 2009? Investing in the East of England’s natural assets (16 th April 2009) 91%

12. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th April 2009 Hydromorphological pressures Fine sedimentation River Hull Headwaters, Yorkshire

13. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th April 2009 Hydromorphological pressures Channelisation and disconnection from floodplain Bubwith 1935: Pre wideningBubwith 1935 – Post widening River Derwent, Yorkshire

14. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th April 2009 Hydromorphological pressures Inappropriate bankside structure River Axe, Devon

15. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th April 2009 Hydromorphological pressures River Avon, Wiltshire In-channel structures

16. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th April 2009 Hydromorphological pressures In-channel structures River Beult, Kent

17. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th April 2009 (2) How can we target resources?

18. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th April 2009 Mechanisms for improving SSSI Rivers Biodiversity Outcome Measures o 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?

19. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th April 2009 The need for prioritisation Limited resources Funding Manpower Time 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”

20. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th April 2009 Prioritisation approach Secondary benefits Ease of Implementation Area vs Cost Timescale required Technical Effectiveness Prioritisation Ranking

21. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th April 2009 Technical Effectiveness Sustainability Certainty in delivering favourable condition River AND floodplain habitat improvement Upstream/downstream benefits “No regrets” / quick wins

22. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th April 2009 Secondary Benefits SAC / other environmental features (not necessarily within designated SSSI) Flood risk management. Other enhancement initiatives. Public amenity & access

23. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th April 2009 Ease of Implementation Landowner support Requirement for legal consents Existing initiatives Low risk / high certainty

24. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th April 2009 Timescales of implementation 2009… …2010 Short, Medium and Long term actions

25. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th April 2009 River “area” + Floodplain area Upstream/downstream benefit to SSSI? Design, construction and maintenance cost Area vs Cost

26. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th April 2009 Weightings

27. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th April 2009 Lessons learnt Subjectivity o 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.

28. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th 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.

29. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th 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.

30. CIWEM Annual Conference, 30 th April 2009 Thank You j.eyquem@royalhaskoning.com 01444 476612