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Ali Morse @this_damselfly

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

Joined March 2022
  • Tweets 283
  • Following 208
  • Followers 379
64 Photos and videos
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
4 Jun 2025
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 👇 wildlifetrusts.org/planning-… #planningbill
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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?
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🩵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 ✍️: petition.parliament.uk/petit…
The Wildlife Trusts@WildlifeTrusts
19 May 2025
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) thetimes.com/uk/environment/…
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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.
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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
15 Jan 2025
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?
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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)
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@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) thetimes.com/uk/environment/…

Labour shelves rescue plan for globally rare chalk streams

Protection of habitat featured in David Attenborough’s Wild Isles had been promised under the Tories

thetimes.com
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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) dailymail.co.uk/news/article…

'Bring back the beaver to tackle flooding' - MPs

The hunting of the stocky rodents to extinction 400 years ago left the countryside more exposed due to the loss of their skills as 'ecosystem engineers' who reshape rivers, they argue.

dailymail.com
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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
23 Dec 2024
“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: wildlifetrusts.org/news/new-…
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...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)
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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)
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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👇 wcl.org.uk/small-waters-char…
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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 wildlifetrusts.org/news/open…
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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) chalkstreams.org/2024/11/02/…

The abandoned chalk stream recovery pack?

As far as I have been told Defra has abandoned publication of the promised chalk stream recovery pack. A great shame for beleaguered chalk streams like the Ivel (above), the Lea, the Ver, the Daren…

chalkstreams.org
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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
14 Nov 2024
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.
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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
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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
2 Nov 2024
⚠️ 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! 👉 marchforcleanwater.org/ #FloodTheStreets
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The previous Govt's fund was a welcome intervention, but it was populated only by fines levied from Apr'22 to Oct'23, with more recent penalties set to disappear off to Treasury. A more formally established fund is vital to secure sustained finance for improving our waters.
Richard Benwell@RSBenwell
16 Oct 2024
Replying to @RSBenwell
The Water Restoration Fund was set up so that when water companies break the rules, fines automatically pay for nature restoration. Regulators must be tougher & fines should pay for nature, not disappear into Treasury funds. The bill should put the Restoration Fund in law.
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