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Site developed & managed by:
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Allen House, Marlow,
Buckinghamshire SL7 1FD
Tel: +44 (0) 1628 891589
Fax: +44 (0) 1628 472711
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Introduction
The following provides information on a selection of organisations and projects working with, or focusing on, wetlands. These are just examples. There are many more organisations, some of which can be found through the websites given below.
Any organisation wanting to be included in this list should email the WFD team at FWR using the list provided at the bottom of the left hand column on this webpage.
Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust
(http://www.wwt.org.uk/)
WWT is the UK’s largest international wetland conservation charity. It manages around 2000 hectares of wetland bird reserves which include 6 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), 5 Special Protection Areas (SPA) and 5 Ramsar sites. Nine visitor centres are open to the public and welcome volunteers to assist with conservation work. The WWT also has a wetland advisory service which can assist land owners and voluntary groups to improve, restore or create a wetland.
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English Nature
(http://www.english-nature.org.uk/)
English Nature is a government agency funded through DEFRA. It is charged with the conservation of wildlife, geology and the landscape in England.
English Nature is leading the Habitat Action Plan (HAP), part of the UK’s biodiversity action planning, for coastal and floodplain grazing marsh, reedbed, fen and lowland raised bog. This has the overall aim of identifying where they exist, restoring those which have become degraded and recreating these types of habitats in selected areas.
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Four freshwater wetland types have been identified as priority habitats under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. These are reedbeds, coastal and floodplain grazing marsh, fens and lowland raised bogs.
RSPB
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Wetlands International
(http://www.wetlands.org)
Wetlands International is a global, non-profit organisation focused solely on wetland conservation and sustainable management. It has established networks of experts and close partnerships with key organisations in order to sustain and restore wetlands, their resources and biodiversity for future generations through research, information exchange and conservation activities, worldwide. It operates in over 120 countries.
The Wetlands International website contains a large resource of guidance documents, manuals and reports on all aspects of wetland conservation and management.
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Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
(http://www.ramsar.org)
The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, Especially as Waterfowl Habitats (The Ramsar Convention) is an intergovernmental treaty that aims to stem the progressive encroachment on, and loss of, wetlands. Its original emphasis was primarily to provide habitat for waterbirds. However, over the years the Convention has broadened its scope to cover all aspects of wetland conservation and sustainable use, recognising wetlands as ecosystems that are extremely important for biodiversity conservation and for the well being of human communities.
The Convention was signed on 2 February 1971 in Ramsar, Iran and was ratified by the UK in 1976. The Convention now has 141 Contracting Parties around the World and approximately 1387 wetlands have been designated for inclusion in the List of Wetlands of International Importance, covering over 122.7 million hectares.
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Four non-governmental organisations work closely with the Ramsar Convention and are recognised as partner organisations.
UNESCO serves as Depository for the Convention, but it is administered by a secretariat known as the Ramsar Bureau, which is housed in the headquarters of IUCN - the World Conservation Union in Gland, Switzerland.
There are 144 Ramsar sites in the UK, totalling around 760,000 hectares. UK dependant territories contain a further 15 sites which add a further 103,000 hectars to the total.
The Ramsar website has an large number of useful handbooks and guidance documents, for example, case studies on integrating wetland conservation and wise use into river basin management.
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World Wetlands Day
(http://ramsar.org/wwd/wwd_index.htm)
Each year, 2nd February is World Wetlands Day (WWD). It marks the date of the signing of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1971. WWD was celebrated for the first time in 1997
Each year, government agencies, non-govern-mental organizations and groups of citizens at all levels of the community undertake actions aimed at raising public awareness of wetland values and benefits, in general, and the Ramsar Convention in particular..
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The Convention’s website reports from more than 80 countries on WWD activities of all sizes and shapes. They vary from lectures and seminars, nature walks, children’s art contests, sampan races, and community clean-up days, to radio and television interviews and letters to newspapers, to the launch of new wetland policies, new Ramsar sites and new programmes at the national level.
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British Trust for Ornithology
(http://www.bto.org/)
BTO was formed in 1932 and is an independent, non-campaigning, scientific research organisation which investigates the populations, movement and ecology of wild birds in the British Isles. focused on data collection.
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The BTO operates using professionals and volunteers and both in isolation and in co-operation with conservation agencies and universities. A summary of work undertaken in relation to wetlands can be found on their website.
The Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) is the scheme which monitors non-breeding waterbirds in the UK. The principal aims of WeBS are to identify population sizes, determine trends in numbers and distribution and to identify important sites for waterbirds. WeBS is jointly run by the British Trust for Ornithology, The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee.
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Bird Watch Ireland
(http://www.birdwatchireland.ie)
Birdwatch Ireland is concerned with the conservation and protection of Ireland’s birds and their habitats. It is a charity funded by annual membership subscriptions, donations, grants and sponsorship. Membership exceeds 10,000. Birdwatch maintains a network of 25 reserved across Ireland, many of which have wetland components.
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Great Fen Project
(http://www.greatfen.org.uk)
The Great Fen Project aims to restore 3000 hectares of fenland habitat, primarily through linking Holme Fen and Woodwalton Fen National Nature Reserves in Huntingdonshire. The project, which commenced in 1999, is a partnership between English Nature, the Wildlife Trust, Huntingdonshire District Council and the Environment Agency.
Woodwalton Fen is designated as a Ramsar site, because of the plants and invertebrates it supports and as a Special Area of Conservation, because it is an excellent example of purple moor grass meadow. Expansion of the fenland habitat will be achieved by land acquisition and modification of drainage patterns and management. In addition to conservation, the project also aims to improve flood protection of arable and urban areas in the region.
Worldwide Fund for Nature
Wetlands Projects for Schools
A number of organisations offer schools project packages to look at wetlands in the classroom and to visit wetland sites. Some of these are listed below.
The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust education site
(http://www.wwt.org.uk/text/6/learn.html)
WWT provides resources and briefing notes for everyone from government to the layperson. It also contains downloadable lesson packs, data files and factfiles designed for classroom and field use.
Wetland Link International
(http://www.wwt.org.uk/text/297/.html)
WLI is an organisation established in 2003 which aims to develop a global network of wetland education centres. The network defines a wetland education centre as, “any place where there is interaction between people and wildlife” and “CEPA (communications, education and public awareness) activity occurs in support of wetland conservation aims”. It is still in the early staged of development.
The document, Making a Splash – the potential and practice of wetland education centres, described the organisation’s activities.
(http://www.wwt.org.uk/downloads/449/.html)
River World contains resources for children and teachers on rivers, waterways and water use in the home.
(http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/subjects/geography/rivers/index.html)
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