Habitat Management

As a part of its U.TdR Project, part funded under the Interreg IIIC programme, ART commissioned a number of reports etc. to provide environmental information of value to rivers trusts in England & Wales and to provide a benchmark of practice for information exchange with EU partners. The full documents can be freely downloaded for non-commercial purposes with due acknowledgement of the original authors, U.TdR, Interreg IIIC and ART.

Agri-environment schemes in England
A disappointment with agri-environment schemes in England over many years has been their focus on species and specific habitats and the failure to recognise river corridors as the natural umbilical cord linking those habitats and species. As a result, ART commissioned a practical guide on current agri-environment schemes in England in order to help rivers trust personnel and others understand policy changes relating to the Common Agricultural Policy. The guide reminds land managers of their Cross Compliance obligations relevant to watercourse protection and enables and encourages land managers to adopt those Environmental Stewardship options most likely to result in the protection of rivers and streams. The full report is available by clicking on the following links Agri-environment schemes in England (File size: 177kb - File format: Adobe PDF).

Rural River Habitat Management Best Practice
The underlying approach adopted by rivers trusts in England & Wales has been to work with individual farmers and land managers to find positive solutions to environmental problems and issues, particularly those that provide cost benefits or are at worst cost neutral. Rivers trust advisers have no authority to compel action, and work on the principle of encouraging farmers and land managers to adopt practices that they find most acceptable to their own particular land and/or preferences. The Rural River Habitat Management Best Practice notes, prepared for ART by Westcountry Rivers Trusts, are designed to offer a choice of solutions for farmers and land managers to apply, based on their knowledge and experience of their own land. The full set of guidance notes is available by clicking on the following link The Rural River Habitat Management Best Practice notes (File size: 3,481kb - File format: Adobe PDF).

Database of UK Rivers Trusts’ Projects: 2006
ART has commissioned the preparation of a list of Rivers Trusts’ Research and Studies and a list of Improvement Projects to avoid duplicated effort and to encourage information exchange and future collaboration projects with EU partners. The full lists are available by clicking on the following links Rivers Trusts’ Research and Studies (File size: 60kb - File format: Word) or Rivers Trusts’ Improvement Projects (File size: 146kb - File format: Word)

Habitats Leaflet for Farmers and Land Managers
Our practical experience of working with farmers tells us that, like many other busy people, they tend to suffer from information overload. To gain their attention initially, it is therefore helpful to give them a summary of the economic benefits that they can achieve by being environmentally driven. ART has therefore supported the Habitats leaflet for farmers and landowners prepared by Eden Rivers Trust. Though primarily designed for use in the Eden Catchment, the leaflet forms a template for wider use and use in planning future funding bids. The full leaflet is available by clicking here (File size: 206kb - File format: Adobe PDF).

Surveying - Rapid Assessment of River Environments (R.A.R.E.)
Eden Rivers Trust has successfully pioneered the R.A.R.E. method for river basin planning and risk/work targeting. With limited resources it is imperative for cost effectiveness that work is targeted on the most vulnerable areas of a river basin. The R.A.R.E. technique, using aerial surveying, allows priority areas to be quickly identified on a structured basis. ART believes that this method, used in conjunction with its favoured community bottom up approach, can provide a template for all river basins that cannot be easily and quickly be covered by a walk-over survey. ART therefore commissioned Eden Rivers Trust to prepare a practical guide of the technique, which is available by clicking here (File size: 1,339kb - File format: Adobe PDF). A complementary presentation, given to Expo Rome in November 2006, is available by clicking on the following link [Appx 47 rename as RARE: Rome 2006].

Water Quality Monitoring Review: APEM: 2005
APEM (independent consultants) were commissioned by ART to produce a report on the status of water quality and biological sampling and monitoring of diffuse water pollution undertaken by the Environment Agency in England & Wales and the implications in meeting the objectives of the Water Framework Directive. This provides ART and other interested organisations with an objective review of current practice in England & Wales and a firm basis on which to contribute towards shaping future monitoring programmes under the WFD. It also provides a benchmark comparison for programmes in other EU countries. The full report is available for downloading by clicking here (File size: 736kb - File format: Word).