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Project Importance
Agriculture and urban growth have resulted in the loss of sites of conservation value across lowland Britain. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Fens:
- Only 1.1% of Cambridgeshire is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest compared to the national county average of 6.8%. This figure is even lower in the fens area
- Since 1600, over 99% of traditional fen wetland has been lost. Only three fragments remain. These are Woodwalton Fen, Wicken Fen and Chippenham Fen, which together make up the Fenland Special Area for Conservation, a legal designation which affords protection at a European level.
- Our project area is one of the few areas in which an appreciable peat resource can still be found. Our measurements show that the peat has been declining at a rate of about 2cm per year since 1970. The loss of peat will cause a change in farming from valuable root crops such as potatoes to less valuable (and probably less competitive) combinable crops such as wheat and barley.
- The fens have far fewer footpaths and access ways than elsewhere in Cambridgeshire.
Fenland's inheritance:
The Fens covers an area of 380,000 Ha in Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. In prehistory this low-lying area would have been a vast complex of wetland habitats, created by a low gradient and slow-moving, meandering rivers and streams. The wet grassland, wet woodland, raised bog, reed beds and fens provided a bountiful source of food and natural resources for the people that lived there.
From this period, people increasingly begun working with the distinctive landscape of The Fens, using it to complement the upland, instead of against it. The result, by the 17th century, was one of the most prosperous areas in England, an example of truly sustainable land-use. This prosperity is evident in the cathedrals, churches and abbeys that were found in fen towns and villages.
The Cambridgeshire Fens were successively drained, particularly from the 17 th Century. This was carried out often against the will of local people by venture capitalists, seeking to make profits by creating more valuable grazing and arable land.
Here and Now:
The Cambridgeshire Fens now require constant draining. Much of the area is now below sea level because the peat has shrunk through water loss and oxidation. As the drainage continued apace, wild habitats that were of use to local people were lost and this has continued into the present day.
The Great Fen Project contains two existing reserves (Woodwalton Fen and Holme Fen National Nature Reserves). However it is evident that small nature reserves isolated by large tracts of intensively managed farmland are always likely to lose species. Their small size also makes them relatively expensive to manage. The main response to this has been to raise the nature conservation value of the ‘wider countryside’.
This is being done at many levels, from local action though Local Biodiversity Action Plans, to Europe-wide action such as the agri-environment grants to help farmers support wildlife on their land. However, elsewhere in Europe, particularly in the polders of the Netherlands, the important role of very large nature reserves in a conservation strategy has been realised. The experience is ideal for transplanting to the Cambridgeshire Fens.
Looking forward:
Cambridgeshire has witnessed the highest population growth in the country. Net in-migration is around 2000 per year, on top of natural increases. The greater Cambridge area is expected to provide 105,000 new homes in the next 25 years. There are more people with more free time and they need places for their recreation. Whilst Cambridgeshire is a comparatively prosperous area, there has been a decline in jobs in rural areas. Furthermore, the forecast of 1600 new jobs per year in Cambridgeshire is thought to be outstripped by the number of people in the labour market as the population increases and commuting from outside the county is also increasing.
The Great Fen Project has the potential to provide multiple benefits to support wildlife and people:
- Nature conservation
- Education for children and adults
- Local access for local communities
- Tourism - local, national and international
- Income generation for local businesses though onsite and offsite activities, creating jobs in rural areas.
- Protection of people and property from flooding.
