LIFE WADER (Water and Disturbance Environmental Restoration) is a major £5.8m nature recovery project to reverse the decline of river, coastal and marine habitats and wildlife across the Tweed catchment and Northumberland coast
Tweed Forum is a key delivery partner in LIFE WADER, an exciting partnership project focusing on four key issues: the need to improve water quality across the Tweed catchment and Northumberland coast; excessive levels of macro algae in intertidal areas; control of invasive non-native species in river, dune and intertidal areas; and the effects of human recreation on wildlife.
LIFE WADER is taking a new approach to nature recovery. Rather than tackling environmental problems in isolation, the project is addressing issues at the landscape-scale. Species and habitats are interdependent – they live in an open system and their capacity to thrive depends on many different factors. The project is tackling major issues with innovative solutions, to allow nature to thrive and be resilient from source-to-sea – now and in the future – and especially in the context of a changing climate.
The project aims to improve the water environment for people as well as wildlife – while bringing enormous benefits to biodiversity, delivering financial gains to land managers, improving water quality, sequestering carbon, enhancing recreation and mitigating flood risk.
LIFE WADER is a partnership between Natural England, the Environment Agency, the University of Newcastle and Tweed Forum and encompasses six internationally important NATURA 2000 sites. The project is led by Natural England and funded by the EU’s LIFE Programme – the European Union’s funding instrument for the environment; funding is awarded for best practice, innovation and demonstration projects.
