Ali Morse

All things water @Wildlifetrusts. Chair Blueprint for Water @WCL_news, Council @CanalRiverTrust, Member #SouthernRFCC, Nature nerd @ Insta alimorse5. Own Views.

[Ali Morse @this_damselfly]

Today the Planning & Infrastructure Bill returns to Parliament. Last week MPs made it clear they want to see protections for #chalkstreams added to the Bill.
Will Govt. accept an amendment that would see greater protection for these wildlife-rich, globally-rare treasures???

[The Wildlife Trusts @WildlifeTrusts]

Chalk streams are beautiful & teem with wildlife – but they're under threat. Today we joined a cross-party group of MPs including @CHinchliffMP in Parliament to back proposals to better protect these precious freshwaters.
Read more
👇
https://t.co/x0aJgGv0Sb
#planningbill

[Ali Morse @this_damselfly]

A pleasure to speak alongside @fluitans & others at @Freshwaterhabs Headstart Conference yesterday. #Chalkstream headwaters, #ponds & other small waters are a powerhouse of biodiversity but are largely overlooked in policy.
Will Govt's independent water commission change this?

[Ali Morse @this_damselfly]

🩵Love that this map is almost entirely yellow - meaning that people all over the UK have signed the petition, because they treasure our #chalkstreams even if they live absolutely nowhere near one. Govt. should take note.
Add your name here ✍️: https://t.co/4CfaeGqoyw

[The Wildlife Trusts @WildlifeTrusts]

Strong calls today on Govt. to act for our #chalkstreams.
But why does Govt. need chalk streams to be healthy❓

Is it so they can:

🧵 (1/3)
https://t.co/0kg2Ta9T0r

[Ali Morse @this_damselfly]

At Parliament earlier today talking to the Environment APPG about #adaptation: flooding, drought, and how nature can help us to adapt to their impacts.
How we manage water will be crucial as these are the climate change impacts that people will feel in their daily lives.

[Ali Morse @this_damselfly]

As MPs this morning debate water quality in rivers, lakes & seas thanks to @CatherineFookes MP, it seems at odds with their warm words on water that just yesterday Government resisted this opportunity to place the Water Restoration Fund on a legal footing.

[Richard Benwell @RSBenwell]

The Water Restoration Fund is a great way to ensure water company fines help restore nature.

Government is resisting putting the Fund in law & the first £11m hasn't been paid, leaving projects in limbo. If not in law, will @RachelReevesMP secure this vital fund in the Budget?

[Ali Morse @this_damselfly]

Calls to bring back the #Beaver from @CEN_HQ MPs, to reduce flood risk - with a licensing system & payment support for landowners. “We cannot afford to waste any more time with trials when the evidence is clear: we need more wild beavers in England.” (5/5)
https://t.co/GMFU11vviW

[Ali Morse @this_damselfly]

In case you missed them: Just some of the watery headlines from over the Christmas break – featuring water voles, chalk streams, WildBelts and beavers. 👇 Lots for @DefraGovUK and Government to act upon! (1/5)

[Ali Morse @this_damselfly]

@adamvaughan_uk covers the abandoned plan to restore the globally-rare #chalkstreams featured in David Attenborough’s ‘Wild Isles’. The plan was agreed & written. Its author says it’s “utterly baffling” that the new government would want to shelve it (4/5)
https://t.co/v136nOyBdb

[Ali Morse @this_damselfly]

The report’s maps, showing water vole presence, are a vital tool identifying sites that are important for the species’ recovery. We hope they will be used to plan projects to restore habitat, control predation, & direct funding pots towards reversing Ratty’s decline. (3/3)

[Ali Morse @this_damselfly]

Our new report funded by @NaturalEngland provides a glimmer of hope for ‘Ratty’, the endangered water vole once found on almost every watercourse in Britain. In general, its range continues to contract, and has fallen by 39% since the project’s start… (1/3)

[The Wildlife Trusts @WildlifeTrusts]

“Water voles are mini ecosystem engineers, rather like beavers, and they contribute greatly to healthy river ecology." says @this_damselfly Ali Morse, Water Policy Manager at The Wildlife Trusts.

Read about the hope of saving Ratty in our latest report: https://t.co/jk81YuB69f

[Ali Morse @this_damselfly]

...but in some areas, conservation work is helping water voles to recolonise the sites from which they had disappeared. Projects across the country including in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire and East Anglia have seen voles returning. (2/3)

[Ali Morse @this_damselfly]

Small waters, BIG role for nature💧

Ponds, ditches & streams support 1/3 of the fish species set out in nature targets, & 90% of invertebrates🐟

Our Small Waters Charter calls for protection, restoration & creation of new freshwater habitats

Read more👇
https://t.co/YmmVrBX02e

[Ali Morse @this_damselfly]

In particular, rivers need protection from indirect harms like the extra abstraction or sewage loads associated with new housing. But planning controls are only one part of the picture; a more holistic approach to #chalkstream recovery is needed. (2/2)

https://t.co/qI88OS0KwY

[Ali Morse @this_damselfly]

In the absence of any Government strategy on chalk streams, we’ve written to Ministers setting out how these globally-rare habitats could be better protected through the planning system. (1/2) @HantsIWWildlife @BBOWT @WiltsWildlife @WildlifeTrusts

https://t.co/5qQtJnrfBU

[Ali Morse @this_damselfly]

Great to see the requirement for Pollution Incident Reduction Plans extended to water supply services, which can also contribute significant pollution events - and also to Welsh companies; positive news for Welsh and cross-border rivers and coasts.

[Richard Benwell @RSBenwell]

We've been talking to DEFRA about improving the Water Bill by:
🩵giving Ofwat a nature & climate duty
🩵extending pollution plans to water-only companies 🩵boosting nature-based solutions.

Today Minister @SueHayman1 has acted on all these points.

Great collaborative approach.

[Ali Morse @this_damselfly]

Proud to have marched with colleagues & supporters from all over @WildlifeTrusts, alongside thousands of others from across the UK, representing the nation's waters & their wildlife. Amazing scenes, inspiring day; now to keep pushing for change. #MarchForCleanWater

[Ali Morse @this_damselfly]

@GreenJJNews @WildlifeTrusts @RiverActionUK @theriverstrust @WCL_News @HantsIWWildlife 🩵 A great proposal - we've been calling for a green duty for Ofwat to sit alongside its economic and customer responsibilities.

[Ali Morse @this_damselfly]

Collecting waters of the River Itchen to take to London with me tomorrow on the March for Clean Water. Hope to see some of you there! #MarchforCleanWater #FloodtheStreets #WearBlue #chalkstreams

[The Wildlife Trusts @WildlifeTrusts]

⚠️ Water is life. Yet here in Britain, it's on life support. ⚠️

📢 Join us TOMORROW as we march on the streets of London to reclaim our right to clean water for everyone across the UK.

Find out more & see you there! 👉 https://t.co/QZyZ3rpFMh #FloodTheStreets