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The Westcountry Rivers Trust is an environmental charity
(Charity No: 1045806) established in 1995 to secure the
preservation, protection, development and improvement of the
rivers, streams, watercourses and water impoundments in the
Westcountry and to advance the education of the public in the
management of water.
A cornerstone of our philosophy is working in partnership with
external individuals and organisations to share expertise and
facilitate better information transfer. By collaborating with a
whole range of stakeholders - ranging from individual businesses
through to academic institutions, NGOs and government
departments - the Trust aims to circumvent sectoral interests
and encourages joint solutions to the complex environmental
problems our society currently faces.
The Trust operates the Ecosystem Approach, which was designed by
the IUCN. This approach allows us to implement environmental
change at the appropriate level and means that rather than
forcing our will on individuals and communities, we empower them
to taken ownership, and thus responsibility for the work, thus
creating sustainable change.
The principles of the Ecosystem Approach are:
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Management objectives are a matter of social choice
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Ecosystems must be managed in a human context
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Ecosystems must be managed within natural limits
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Management must recognise that change is inevitable
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Ecosystem management must be undertaken at the appropriate
level
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Ecosystem management must seek to maintain or enhance
ecosystem character and functioning at an appropriate level for
social choice
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Decision-makers should be guided by appropriate tools from
science
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Ecosystem manager should act with caution
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A
multi-disciplinary approach is needed
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Ecosystem managers need to think globally but act locally
An example of using the Ecosystem Approach to deal with
conservation issues is shown below:
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Imagine a river which rises in a rural catchment and which has
been farmed for centuries. The river flows through pasture, then
woods, then through a conurbation until it reaches a city where
it widens substantially. Eventually it flows through the city
and back in the countryside, before exiting into the sea at a
popular tourist spot.
The above scenario could give rise to a number of issues:
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Intensification of farming leading to increased nutrient
leaching, making water abstracted for human consumption
expensive to treat, increasing costs of water companies
treatment works, resulting in higher water bills.
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Increased stock numbers leading to greater poaching of ground
and increased sedimentation. This reduces fish spawning habitat,
resulting in less fish. As fishing deteriorates, so does capital
value of river/fishery resulting in less investment. Less
investment results in less care and attention for the river, and
less interest in its well being….this is a vicious circle.
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Sedimentation eventually arrives in estuary where it blocks
shipping channels. This has to be dredged, which is expensive
and very damaging to the environment, and is usually then dumped
at sea…destroying a pristine marine environment.
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Chemicals from headwaters flow through city, into coastal
catchment where people swim and surf. They suffer from effects
of bacteria etc in the water and tourism reduces. This has a
knock on effect on the local economy.
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etland being drained for farming means that water rushes
through the river faster, as there is no stabilising effect and
gradual release any longer. This leads to flooding in the city
costing millions of pounds in insurance and requiring flood
defence works..
All of this is a problem because the headwaters of the river
have been abused. Farmers farm intensively because the Common
Agricultural Policy tells them to. Their brief is to produce
lots of food, very cheaply and this they do very well. However
if the system could be fractionally altered, this could have a
massive benefit for the rivers. This is where the Ecosystem
Approach comes into play.All of this is a problem because the headwaters of the river
have been abused. Farmers farm intensively because the Common
Agricultural Policy tells them to. Their brief is to produce
lots of food, very cheaply and this they do very well. However
if the system could be fractionally altered, this could have a
massive benefit for the rivers. This is where the Ecosystem
Approach comes into play.
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Modulate the
Common Agricultural Payments to protect wildlife zones and
rivers, rather than require intensive production
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Create buffer
zones along rivers for wildlife, grasses and trees
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Re-flood
wetlands to create bird friendly zones and water carrying
capacity
These 3 simple actions, taken at the appropriate level result in
the removal of all the issues listed above. They may not repair
the damage done, although they will certainly help, but they
will prevent further damage. They will result in an improved and
protected environment, reduced flooding, reduced dredging,
increased wildlife and biodiversity, improved summer and winter
flows, improved fisheries and economic enhancement of river and
a nicer landscape with more varied crops and cover.
Imagine the costs of the
problems, and look at the savings generated by the solution…it
is a win/win situation with no-one losing out….food for thought.
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