"Look, the water quality has
improved - you can see the duck's feet!" explained
Andrea Kelly of the Broads Authority in Barton Broad.
Clearwater
revival
Why restore
the Broads?
Has it worked?
Conflicts of interests?
Finding the balance
Why
restore the Broads?
In many areas, the pristine, clear waters that characterised
the Broads are long gone. This followed years of decline through
pollution, as well as the destruction of their natural systems
that had kept the water clean and the banks stable. Over the
years there have been huge investments made in restoring the
Broads - improving their water quality and their navigation.
- Nutrients
poured into the Broads, from farm chemicals and sewerage,
allowing microscopic blue-green algae to grow and dominate
the natural community. In sheer numbers they have made the
water cloudy, and caused havoc for the natural system. A
huge investment has gone into stripping the water of nutrients,
as well as taking out the sediment at the bottom of the
Broads still containing nutrients from years past.
- The natural
reed swamp which bordered the Broads was being
destroyed for a number of reasons, including unsympathetic
dredging. Along with other wildlife, this area is important
for pikes and other predators which kept the rest of the
ecology balanced. Without the predators, the balance changed
along the food chain so that the microscopic water fleas
were disappearing, allowing their food - the algae - to
boom. Throughout the Broads, efforts have been made to restore
the bordering reed swamp. Barriers have been put up in a
number of areas to protect the swamp and encourage it to
grow.
- Silting
up of the Broads was exacerbated by the reduction
of the reed swamp. As the plants went, so did the banks'
stability. So lots of sediment dropped to the bottom, making
many parts of the Broads too shallow to navigate.Much of
the Broads have been dredged, and a total of 28ha reclaimed
for navigation.
- Scrub
cover surrounding the Broads has grown as the
surrounding fen became neglected, which acted to over shadow
the bankside vegetation adding to its disappearance.
Conservation organisations have been
putting resources and efforts into clearing scrub and woodland
alongside the Broads.
Has
it worked?
When I visited Barton Broad one June morning, an area of the
Broad with far more bird life than the rest caught my eye
- an area behind a tough plastic barrier. The boat was taken
over the edge of it and I looked down. As my eyes adjusted
to the murk, I became aware of a lush carpet of plants, and
many different kinds. Just over three years ago, this area
was barren.
The barrier had been put up to keep
out the fish and the existing fish had been removed. With
nothing to eat them, the water fleas had thrived and eaten
the algae, allowing light to shine through the water and plants
to grow on the bottom.On Barton Broad, there has been a significant
investment into its restoration as part of the Millenium Clear
Water Project. Work on the Broads is being done in liaison
with other local users, and is subject to reviews on an annual
basis.
As Andrew Kelly of the Broads Authority
explains: "People are largely supportive of the work
going on. They appreciate that protecting the reed swamp influences
all of the Broads. It doesn't matter how much you improve
the quality of the water, it won't be sustainable if there
is not a good reed swamp and fish community."
Concerns do remain however. Barton
is one of the largest Broads and valued as a boating lake
for sailing, and more proposed barriers to protect the reed
swamp have caused a stir. "If they're not careful, their
success will negate the navigation value of the Broad. It
is the best Broad to sail on and one of few where you can
sail for over 30 seconds without tacking," said Mike
Evans, a lifelong sailor on the Broads and member of the Norfolk
and Suffolk Yachting Association.
Conflicts
of interests?
There are a number of genuine attempts to find win-win solutions
for opposing interests where conservation work has clashed
with other users. But despite this, grumbles still remain.
As water quality has improved, at Hickling Broad, a rare water
plant important for conservation, Chara intermedia, bloomed
and caused problems to navigation.
Len Funnel, of the Funnell Boat Hire Group remembers: "In
Hickling broad, the weed was so bad that our day launchers
got hot and over heated. We had to stop taking them there
a couple of years ago." Essentially, the conservation
bodies have a duty to enhance the features that the Broads
are distinctive for, which continue to place restrictions
on how other people use the area.
Finding
the balance
 |
| John
Packman, Chief Executive of the Broads Authority |
People who use the Broads know the
importance and feel the benefits of the restoration work.
And groups are keen to work together. Over and over people
are keen to talk about achieving balance, and recognise the
importance of give and take.
Perhaps the most significant development has been the restructuring
of the Broads Authority management to bring opposing interests
together in the decision making structures.
John Packman, Chief Executive of the Broads Authority explains:
"Key to all this is working together. When I arrived,
the management structure split opposing interests such as
conservation and navigation in separate departments. Now we've
brought them together, so that these interests are served
in one department. We've also brought together navigation
and conservation interests into a new 'Broads Management'
committee, to provide a more holistic approach to their management."
Marshman
Eric Edwards - the last of his kind
Habitats
Flood
Alleviation Strategy
Climate
change
Land
acquisition
|
in Norfolk