UK Development

Introduction
ART’s main objectives for the Project in the UK were:

Extending the UK network
Part of ART’s plan for project dissemination was to increase the number of rivers trusts within England and Wales (Scotland’s rivers trusts fall under the umbrella of Rivers and Fisheries Trusts Scotland, which is an independent sister organisation) and extend the network across other organisations and people that have an interest in rivers or water-related issues, including angling, wildlife and government agencies, without prejudice to any particular or partisan interest. We have taken the simple assumption that, the wider the network, the better the opportunity for ART to act as the catalyst in bringing different groups together on the common good of the environmental, economic and social benefits of clean water.

During the project period from December 2004, we are therefore pleased to report that ART’s full member rivers trusts have increased from 5 to 11 (information on which can be accessed via our Locations website section).

In addition, several other rivers trusts have either been formed, particularly in the North of England with the support of Alistair Maltby, ART’s Director (North), or are in the process of being formed, particularly in Wales, with the independent support of Prof John Stoner (Pembrokeshire Rivers Trust) and the Wales Steering Group under the chairmanship of Dr Stephen Marsh-Smith (Wye and Usk Foundation).

In order to prevent the U.TdR budget too thinly, it was decided to concentrate its contribution to rivers trust development in Wales. At the beginning of the Project the only active rivers trusts in Wales were the Pembrokeshire Rivers Trust and the Wye & Usk Foundation, whereas in the North of England several groups were already showing interest in forming charitable trusts or were in the process of forming. During 2006, the ART Wales Steering Group identified 8 potentially viable trusts, and the budget has been spent supporting Prof Stoner’s efforts in raising awareness, bringing groups of people together and providing guidance. Support from U.TdR has also assisted in the setting up of a pledge of £40,000 in funds from the Welsh Assembly Government to help establish those 8 new Rivers Trusts in Wales. As we reach the end of the Project the Teifi Rivers Trust held its official launch in March 2007, and it is expected that it will become involved in the Interreg IIIA Celtic Rivers Project extension with Slaney River Trust and Pembrokeshire Rivers Trust. In addition, 3 other trusts are expected to follow in 2007, respectively on the Clywd & Conwy, Trawsfynydd and Taff/Rhymney, and there is considerable interest in Glaslyn/South Lleyn, Mawddach, Dyfi, Tywi, Gower and on the River Dee, where an existing trust has been dormant for some time . It must be appreciated that because of the bottom up approach fundamental to the rivers trust movement in the UK , these trusts take considerable time to form and develop. Whilst it would be easy to create satellite trusts from an ART centre, our belief is that to be self-sustainable they should be built on the needs and aspirations of those in each respective community, addressing local concerns and issues and fitting with circumstances prevalent in the local community. Our role is therefore effectively to act as a catalyst and create a positive climate for self-help, which is time consuming and often difficult to quantify in terms of achievement in the short term.

This overall development of the rivers trust network in England and Wales is considered important in the context of creating sufficient critical mass to provide the Environment Agency (EA), as the competent body for the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in England & Wales , an operational “solution” for the implementation of WFD beyond narrow regulatory requirements (www.environment-agency.gov.uk). The EA in Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government have been particularly supportive in helping ART to create the rivers trust infrastructure in Wales outlined above.

As part of the WFD process, ART has also been actively involved with the EA at a national level, which culminated in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between ART and the EA in Newcastle in October 2006 and the launch of partnership working with ART’s rivers trust members across England and Wales . ART’s involvement in the U.TdR project and the EU perspective is also of immense benefit in promoting cross-border collaboration around the implementation of WFD, and providing the mechanism for local authorities, statutory agencies and NGO’s to exchange information and best practice in a non-political arena.

In addition ART has participated in the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs’ (Defra) national Water Framework Directive Stakeholders' Group and Catchment Sensitive Farming Stakeholders' Group, where it contributes to national policy in respect of river basin and water related community activities. (www.defra.gov.uk).

Taking the holistic approach of river basins or catchment areas, instead of the traditional species orientated approach favoured by many environmental groups, has enabled ART to engage in meaningful debate with many of the leading NGOs within the UK, particularly through membership of the Wildlife & Countryside Link (www.wcl.org.uk), which is one of the most respected environmental policy advice forums in the UK. Arising from this involvement, ART is a co-author of the “Blueprint for Water” manifesto launched in November 2006, which sets out 10 steps to sustainable water by 2015. (www.blueprintforwater.org.uk)

A spin off of its development in England & Wales has been to establish closer ties with the rest of the British Isles and ART has a Memorandum of understanding with its sister body in Scotland , Rivers and Fisheries Trusts Scotland (RAFTS) and now also has member organisations in Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland .

Summary increase in ART’s members

As a consequence from this higher profile national activity, during the project period from December 2004 our e-Newsletter mailing list has increased from about 300 to just over 600 in December 2006, and ART has become well known across the UK and figures highly with Internet search engines.

Extending the EU network
Although developing ART’s UK network is central to its role as an umbrella organisation in Wales and England, the added bonus of this project was not only the obvious opportunity to link up with project partners but also to cross-link with organisations in other EU Interreg III programmes. Our view is that sustainability, and greatest environmental benefit for EU citizens, will be realised by promoting future collaboration through partnerships across the EU. In short, we believe that all EU states can learn from each other, replicating or applying best practice and, just as importantly with the value of hindsight, understanding the causes of so many of our environmental failures and thereby increasing the chances of avoiding repetition.

ART is therefore pleased to have supported or participated in the following:

Seminars
ART has run 4 biannual seminars open to all during the project period in the English or Welsh regions. ART believes that seminars are a good opportunity not only formally to meet its charitable educational objects, but also to encourage people who perhaps would not normally attend and meet. The seminars have therefore been based on applying best practice and science, and have incorporated where practicable a format of presentations followed by field visits, which give delegates ample time informally to discuss local issues on site. Costs have been purposely kept down and venues have moved to different locations to encourage wide participation.

We are therefore pleased to report that our seminars have attracted a wide range of organisations with interests in the sector, as well as existing and emerging rivers and fisheries trusts. The mix of delegates has been particularly satisfying because it provides a great opportunity for communication, discussion and understanding between the various agencies and others, in a non-confrontational and non-political setting.

It has also allowed us to publicise our U.TdR project and the Interreg IIIC programme to an ever wider audience and promote collaboration with EU partners outside of England and Wales . A particularly pleasing feature, by moving around the country and varying seminar themes, has been the large proportion of delegates who have attended our seminars for the first time and then remained in contact through the e-Newsletter.

Copies of the presentations of each seminar in CD format are freely available on request to info@associationofriverstrusts.org.uk.

The seminar included presentations on the implications of the salmon stock conservation review by the EA, the developments in Scotland , the framework of why scientific research is undertaken and its practical application to achieve the desired aim of fisheries management and putting data into action using GIS. There were also presentations on the Westcountry Rivers Trust’s Atlantic Salmon Arc Project on salmon genetics, the impact of diffuse pollution on Atlantic salmon populations by CEFAS and the need to survey fish populations in order to target environmental action.

The overall impact of the seminar was to highlight the substantial work being undertaken by rivers trusts and the government agencies and ever improving co-operation between them in working in partnership to identify problems and to seek solutions based on rigorous and sound scientific principles in a cost effective manner. It also provided a good opportunity for ART to promote collaboration between trusts in England & Wales with those in Scotland , in order to develop our UK network through Rivers and Fisheries Trusts Scotland (RAFTS) and avoid duplication of resources particularly on science and technical protocols.

The second day of the seminar took in a field visit on the lower Tweed , the highlight of which was a demonstration of the traditional net and coble fishing method near the mouth of the river. This was undertaken in aid of the Tweed Foundation’s tagging and monitoring research programme, and produced the capture of a salmon fresh from the sea, which was subsequently tagged and released unharmed. The day also included visits to show the impact of man-made obstructions on the passage of migratory fish and designs of fish passes to alleviate the problem. A copy of the field visit notes is available from the website by clicking here (File size: 750kb - File format: Adobe PDF).

This seminar formed part of ART’s U.TdR project, which was part funded under the Interreg IIIC programme

The seminar brought together public and other funding opportunities to develop community led initiatives, and to show how public participation linked to integrated river catchment management is working, not only in Pembrokeshire and the Slaney but across other areas where rivers trusts operate. It also covered the wider perspective of participation across Europe and educational development, in particular the Foundation Degree course started in 2005 at Duchy College , Cornwall under the aegis of Plymouth University and Westcountry Rivers Trust. The field visit to the Pembroke Mill Ponds gave a fascinating insight into public participation in action and the visit to Ian Heaps’ coarse fishery a fine example of rural economy generation. A copy of the field visit notes is available by clicking here (File size: 919kb - File Format: Adobe PDF

Westcountry Rivers Trust joined an Interreg IIIB funded INDICANG programme in 2004, which is a pan-European project aimed at gathering all available information on eels to allow a better understanding of the factors leading to a decline in populations. The partnership has been collecting data for different elements (e.g. male: female ratios, age, parasite loading) in each life history stage (elver, yellow and silver) as well as investigating changes in other indirect factors that have paralleled the decline, like changing land use over time, fishing pressure and changes in access due to migration barriers.

The event attracted a diverse audience who were treated to a detailed account of the current status of eel stocks and exploitation as well as methods of stock assessment and options for future management. For ART it provided an ideal forum for eel fishermen, recreational enthusiasts, eel researchers and general fisheries scientists to meet together effectively for the first time, and a platform for academics, enthusiasts, government agencies and fisheries scientists to become more involved with common interest eel-specific management and conservation issues. Further information on the INDICANG programme is available on www.wrt.org.uk/projects/indicang or www.ifremer.fr/indicang .

The 4 day conference, aimed at the future and management of trout and salmon at both the local and international scale, drew over 200 scientists and practitioners from North America including Alaska , Russia , Iceland , Scandinavia and EU member states. Held at the impressive Baltic Centre overlooking the River Tyne with the conference title “Salmonids in the 21 st Century”, speakers and field visits focussed on four themes:

Speakers on the first two days of the event painted a complex picture and highlighted concerns over salmon survival at sea, habitat degradation and disease, including Gyrodactylus Salaris. However there was much to be positive about with the recovery of the Tyne leading a number of post industrial improving rivers in the North of England including the Mersey , together with many smaller improving rivers in Wales .

Presentations from North America were able to contrast management issues relating to Pacific salmon and other native species and compare surviving pristine habitat with those impacted by the activities of man. 2006 has just recorded one the highest average summer temperatures on record in the UK , some two degrees above the norm and James Savereide of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reminded us that even their vast wild salmon stocks are vulnerable to climate change.

With regard to global warming all was not doom and gloom. In the face of low summer rainfall, heavy abstraction and increasing temperatures the Spanish representative Juan Antonio Lázaro Menéndez explained how salmon and trout in Asturias not only survive, but provide exceptional sport for some 40,000 anglers in this picturesque region of Northern Spain .

The conference field visits taking place on the last two days of the conference were strongly supported by overseas visitors and were hosted by the Tweed Foundation, Eden Rivers Trust and the recently formed Tyne Rivers Trust on their respective rivers. Delegates saw salmon and sea trout being tagged for research on the Tweed , the EA’s Kielder hatchery, fish research traps and counter on the Tyne and habitat restoration and use of underwater “ROV” cameras used for education on the Eden . The field visits were supported with extensive notes of the work being undertaken on the 3 catchments, including a fascinating historical fisheries’ perspective of the Tweed catchment, which are available by clicking here (File size: 7,701kb - File format: Adobe PDF).

Information Exchange
ART is strongly of the opinion that, other than direct network development, the most important underlying aspect of the U.TdR project is information exchange. Given the pioneering nature of this U.TdR project, especially on such a wide scale as 24 partners in 10 EU countries, it was not practicable to evaluate in advance which information would prove the most valuable to other partners across the EU. Accordingly ART has chosen to commission guidance that was known to be of value to rivers trusts and others within England & Wales, and structure it either to allow our European partners to make comparisons with their own local environmental/educational practices or to provide templates that might be modified for their local use.

However, there is concern that the monitoring programme is not adequate for the purposes of measuring diffuse pollution, which is now recognised as representing one of the greatest hurdles to attaining the required good ecological status in all UK River Basin Districts by 2015. This is a particular issue considering that diffuse pollution is specifically mentioned as part of the WFD.

ART therefore commissioned APEM (independent consultants) to produce a report on the current 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).

ART therefore commissioned Eden Rivers Trust to prepare a practical guide of its innovative Rapid Assessment of River Environments project (R.A.R.E.) using aerial surveying, and is universally applicable 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 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. The full report is available by clicking here (File size: 1,339kb - File format: Adobe PDF) and a complementary presentation that was given to Expo Rome in November 2006 is available by clicking on the following link RARE: Rome 2006 (File size: 7,966kb - File format: Adobe PDF).

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. Once they have been engaged, they can be given more detailed Best Agricultural Guidance Notes or, ideally, have a bespoke farm plan prepared. We therefore felt that it was useful to support 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. We also thought it beneficial to complement the Best Agricultural Guidance Notes, which are based on experiences in the south west of England , with a Habitats Leaflet that is based on experience in the north west of England . The full leaflet is available by clicking on the following link Habitats Leaflet for Farmers and Land Managers (File size: 206kb - File format: Adobe PDF).

ART believes that prevention is clearly a cost effective and better environmental solution than the desperate cure of eradication afterwards.

Sadly, within the UK there appears to be complacency in ensuring that people returning from infected areas are fully aware of the need to disinfect fishing tackle and any other material that may carry or transmit the disease. Given the extreme eradication measures and consequences for angling related communities and the environment, ART was keen to publicise the disease and its impact by commissioning the Tweed Foundation to prepare a biosecurity notice and guidance related to Gyrodactylus Salaris. The notice can be freely downloaded and used for educational or campaigning purposes by clicking on the following link Gyrodactylus Salaris (File size: 31kb - File format: Adobe PDF).