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Protecting intertidal environments
Habitat regeneration sits at the heart of Land + Water’ s purpose. James outlines the innovative work that is being done with the Crown Estate, Lymington Harbour Commissioners, and Chichester Harbour Conservancy on salt marsh recovery. He demonstrates why this matters: salt marsh and inter-tidal habitats support the life cycle of around 80 per cent of marine species in UK waters in some way. Climate change threatens these habitats as only small changes in mean sea level have catastrophic effects on the plant species that thrive in these areas. James explains:“ We proposed using dredged sediment to rebuild them, instead of dumping it at sea.” He references successful trials and reveals that the team is now developing a three-year strategy with the Crown Estate to scale up the approach.
This positions Land + Water as designer, consenter, enabler, and contractor. James notes that the programme aims to transform how dredging operates in the UK, working with existing maintenance dredging fleets to move material to nearshore locations and salt marshes. He links this to wider coastal pressures and outlines how rising sea levels drive habitat loss.“ From 2040 to 2100, the IPCC predicts significant sea level rise in UK coastal waters,” he says,“ and intertidal species can only tolerate small changes in height, so it’ s important we protect, maintain, and build back( and up!) this critical green infrastructure.”
Referencing seminars, data, and the importance of reusing sediment near each harbour, James points out that Land + Water now partners with clients who share concerns about future coastal challenges. This supports the great work of key stakeholders such as the Blue Marine Foundation, the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust, RSPB, Natural England, the Environment Agency, and the Wildlife Trusts.
“ We aren’ t going to stop dredging our ports and harbours to maintain shipping
▲ One of Land + Water’ s amphibious excavators at w
navigations, so it’ s time we reused the waste sediment as a resource for habitat regeneration, rather than dumping it in the sea in offshore locations,” James states.
To enable all these projects, James touches on recent investment in equipment, explaining that Land + Water has expanded its amphibious machinery to support current and future work in our important intertidal environments.“ We’ ve got the largest fleet
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