The data collection unit is a sonde linked to a telemetry unit that beams our data out to space and returns it to the EA National Data Monitoring unit in Reading.  The data gathered will enable us to monitor temperature, conductivity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll every 15 minutes. The site is a meeting point for a number of water bodies, including Chichester Harbour, Bracklesham Bay, and the Solent. It will be exciting to see what the data shows!

Many thanks to the Environment Agency National Data Monitoring Unit for agreeing to use the site as feasiblity study; to the Sussex Kelp Restoration Project whose funding made this possible, and to Chichester Harbour Conservancy for doing the hard work of getting the unit installed!

Watch the data as it is gathered using the following hyperlink:

https://telemetry-data.com/open?profile=WESTPOLE

The post CHASM sonde and telemetry first appeared on Manhood Peninsula Partnership.

The Solar Heritage undergoes annual maintenance this month but details of boat trips from Wednesday 4 May onwards are now available to book.   Please see here for details.

The Conservancy’s Victorian Oysterboat Terror also undergoes annual maintenance this month. Public sailing trips of 2 to 2 ½ hours start again on14 May. Please see here for more details and to book.

The Conservancy’s annual programme of guided walks has been paused for now following the retirement of Communities Officer Judi Darley.

Upcoming talks and visits organised by the charity Friends of Chichester Harbour are advertised on their website, for membership details and to see what’s on, see here.

The post Chichester Harbour first appeared on Manhood Peninsula Partnership.

To read the report please follow this link: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability

The post IPCC Sixth Assessment Report first appeared on Manhood Peninsula Partnership.

Climate Resilience and Adaptation aims to:

• Highlight the issues that communities face in order to adapt and become more resilient to climate change
• Promote building on sites at lowest risk from flooding now, and those that will remain at low risk in future, or in a water compatible way.
• Promote development which is resilient to sea level rise and coastal change
• Ensure consideration is made for the appropriate life time of a development, taking into account coastal erosion, flooding, and whether/when homeowners may be willing to abandon property – 100 years or 300?
• Demonstrate the need to update existing long term Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) plans and policies for the coastal plain, including Towards ICZM on the Manhood Peninsula produced during the Coastal Change Pathfinder Project in 2011.
• Promote development that strengthens the area’s economic, environmental and social resilience to climate change
• Promote development that strengthens the area’s sense of place derived from tourism and food production, the major economic sectors on the peninsula.
• Ensure natural capital and nature based solutions are considered in relation to climate change resilience, mitigation and adaptation.

Please follow this link to download the Climate Change Resilience & Adaptation document

The post Climate Resilience & Adaptation first appeared on Manhood Peninsula Partnership.

The RAMSAR Convention signed in 1971 lists all the wetlands in the world that are considered of international importance and Chichester Harbour is on this list.

This was the first of the modern global environmental agreements and is the only one devoted to a specific ecosystem.

Some facts:

• 35% of the world’s wetlands have been lost since 1970, that is, in only 50 years.
• Wetlands are disappearing 3 x faster than forests.
• Wetland-dependent plants and animals are at risk of dying out.
• Human wellbeing, livelihoods and the health of the planet are threatened.
• Coastal wetlands sequester and store carbon up to 55 x faster than tropical rainforests.
• Historically, wetlands were seen as empty wastelands. Humans have degraded them in five ways:

1. They drained them and infilled them. Remains of Victorian drainage pipes can be found on the Harbour shoreline.
2. Over-extraction of water.  Water is extracted from the South Downs aquifer at such a rate that it will have affected the volume of water flowing down streams to the Harbour.
3.  Historically, sewage treatment works were built near the towns and cities and drained into the nearest water course.  Waste water is screened for solids and some works have UV treatment.  Waste water is still diluted and let go with minimum screening when mixed with large volumes of storm water. Waste water still contains nutrients, medicines and other dissolved contaminants when discharged into the environment.
4.  Fish are a vital part of the coastal inshore food chain.  For some years now the Fisheries Authority (IFCA) have designated Chichester Harbour a protected area for bass.
5. People are heard saying that the seals eat all the fish.  However, thinking about it, if there were no fish there wouldn’t be any seals.
6. Climate change.  Sea level rise is a confirmed fact.  In the past few hundred years humans have built hard defences.    As sea level rises, the shoreline should be allowed to progress inland but in many places this can’t happen due to the sea defences.  When the distance of inter-tidal habitat between high and low tide is shortened, the first habitat to get knocked out is the saltmarsh.  If nothing is done then the inter-tidal habitat disappears as it get covered by sea water all the time.  This means that wildlife such as waders and some wildfowl will no longer be able to feed on the mud and will disappear.  Most waders don’t swim, they paddle, and they can’t dive for their food.

What actions should we take?

Value:
We must value the multiple benefits of wetlands and how they can offer nature-based solutions.

Restore:
We must work to restore wetlands to revive the inter-tidal area, biodiversity and life.

Manage:
We must managed wetlands wisely and use them sustainably to conserve and maintain a healthy system.

• As biodiversity hotspots
• As carbon sinks
• As natural sea defences
• As sources of livelihoods and recreation

The post World Wetlands first appeared on Manhood Peninsula Partnership.

At February half term there will be a family fun session at Dell Quay with harbour-related activities both outdoors and in the classroom.  For more details and to book see here.

The Solar Heritage is operating two more bird watching trips this season, 6 and 20 February.  Please see here for details and to book.

Check out the Harbour Tots sessions for families at the Education Centre at Dell Quay.

Young people (16-19 years) with an interest in conservation and the environment and not afraid to get their hands dirty - why not join our Youth Rangers session - book here - it's free of charge.

Upcoming talks organised by the charity Friends of Chichester Harbour will be advertised on their website, for membership details and to see what’s on, see here.

The post Chichester Harbour Events first appeared on Manhood Peninsula Partnership.

The project began following Sea’s the Day (Sea’s the Day | Manhood Peninsula Partnership), during which questions were raised by the fishermen of Selsey Bill with respect to why so few lobsters were being caught locally, and why such a large influx of sediment had arrived in their fishing grounds.

The initial stages were undertaken by Channel Coast Observatory and University of Brighton. The aim was to review existing data in order to establish a baseline indicating knowledge gaps, and in doing so, show the direction of travel necessary for future work. This forms the basis of the first CHASM Report 2020-2021.

The report doesn’t aim to draw conclusions with respect to the definitive reasons behind environmental change and lobster decline - this will be a long road, on which we have only just embarked. It has served to direct our thoughts on next steps however, and there is a whole list of subject areas to be explored from now on that should finally be able to provide an answer.

The project is slowly changing emphasis, and instead of looking only at crabs and lobsters, is beginning to look more closely at the seawater and seabed they inhabit.  In addition, water quality and environmental change are both affected by factors such as climate change and intense urbanisation on the south coast and in temperate zones generally. It is essential to gain knowledge of why lobsters declined, and sediment conditions changed before determining whether it is possible to restore the previous status quo.

One of the main points to emphasise is that this is a review of existing data with, and the analysis of only a very small amount of new sediment data was possible. Covid was not our friend in this respect, but since laboratories reopened analysis work has restarted and will be reported on in due course.

It is hoped that the ongoing research will benefit other projects on the south coast but will also prove an effective model to roll out to other temperate regions.

Key partners in the report are the Manhood Peninsula Partnership, Channel Coast Observatory, University of Brighton, and Chichester District Council. A huge amount of support was received during the period covered by the report from the fishermen of Selsey Bill, and project partners Mulberry-ME, and Southsea SAC to whom huge thanks are due.

Please download the report below:

CHASM Project Report (2020 – 2021)

The post CHASM Project Report 2020-2021 first appeared on Manhood Peninsula Partnership.

Follow this link to find out more about Pagham Harbour Local Nature Reserve

The post Pagham Harbour first appeared on Manhood Peninsula Partnership.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) developed the Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions for use by governments, businesses, investors, communities and NGOs to ensure that nature-based solutions reach their potential to address societal challenges, such as climate change and biodiversity loss.

IUCN worked with the Environment Agency to pilot the Global Standard using the Medmerry managed realignment project on the West Sussex coast.

Follow this link to read more about Medmerry and the Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions

The post Medmerry Global Standard first appeared on Manhood Peninsula Partnership.

Follow this link to see the COP26 film about Wetlands

The post COP26 Wetlands first appeared on Manhood Peninsula Partnership.