From the Guardian “That was fabulous,” said Jan Rees, a member of the Watchtower Waders swimming club as she emerged glistening from Llanishen reservoir. “The water was clear, clean and wonderfully warm. It’s thrilling to be here.” Rees, 67, grew up in this corner of Cardiff, just a few miles north of the city centre, and learned to […]

Read More

Chantelle Grundy, Access and Environment Lead at British Canoeing, shares how we can take action to level up access to our blue spaces. A blog from the Wildlife and Countryside Link website. There is a very good reason why we humans are drawn to lakes, rivers, oceans and pools. Water is intrinsic to our very […]

Read More

RYA env & sustainability  https://www.rya.org.uk/about-us/policies/environment-and-sustainability The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) has recently sent out a detailed set of information about its commitment to sustainability and environment and climate change action. This is a clear statement about its intentions which relate to a very important group of recreational users who can be advocates for greater action […]

Read More

From University of Exeter Europeans spend more than £700 billion (€800bn) a year on recreational visits to water bodies – but perceived poor water quality costs almost £90 billion (€100bn) in lost visits, a new study has found.  The new research – led by a European collaboration involving the University of Exeter and the University […]

Read More

Environment Agency ‘Freshwater anglers contribute an estimated £1.4 billion annually to the English economy, supporting up to 27,000 full-time equivalent jobs, through their spending on the sport.   This is according to an Environment Agency study published today, the first time since 2005 that a major study of angling activity and expenditure has taken place. The […]

Read More

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are an important tool for the maintenance of marine ecosystem functionality and health and ensuring the onward flow of beneficial ecosystem services that support human well-being. Social and economic factors influence whether and how stakeholders exploit resources or cooperate to conserve them. Environmental managers are now turning from designating MPAs to […]

Read More

Shaping a prosperous future for nautical tourism in Europe The Commission published a Staff Working Document on Nautical Tourism. Nautical tourism includes activities in coastal and offshore marine waters, e.g. boating, yachting, boat-based angling and wildlife watching, kayaking as well as other harbour and marina-based activities. This sector can provide economic opportunities for coastal communities, […]

Read More

Forest Enterprise England, the land management agency of the Forestry Commission, has become the first organisation to publish an organisation-wide Natural Capital Account. It seeks to quantify the full value of the services provided by the natural assets on its entire 254,000 hectare landholding. Although the account is initially only partial, it includes detailed management […]

Read More