13th Annual Network Conference in Nottingham

Several new tools to help river restoration practitioners were presented at the conference:

River Restoration WIKI tool

A new WIKI type tool designed to share information on river restoration is being developed by RESTORE. It will be possible to search for river restoration projects using parameters such as cost, substrate, riparian land use or hydropower schemes. Practitioners are being invited to contribute river restoration case studies, good practice and research to the database. The WIKI will be launched in summer 2012.

http://www.restorerivers.eu

For further information please email: restore@environment-agency.gov.uk

It ain’t all about the environment

The UK's groundbreaking National Ecosystem Assessment was debated by Dr Mark Everard of the Environment Agency, who argued that river restoration was no longer a ‘nice to have’ measure but can have beneficial impacts on house values, social inclusion and a host of other public benefits such as improved flood management, and was a crucial element in addressing degraded river environments that disproportionately affect the poor.

Practical information on making the most of natural resources can be found on: What nature can do for you.

Catchment restoration fund

Roland Moore from DEFRA discussed the recently established catchment restoration fund for England which provides finance for projects that restore rivers to a more natural state or reduce the impact of diffuse pollution. Applicants for grants must be a charitable organisation or their partners, and funding can be for multiple years. Even where bids are unsuccessful applicants can be helped to improve their proposals or find alternatives to get their projects off the ground.

Further information:

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/research/planning/136182.aspx