Project Achievements

The UK’s Humber Estuary is internationally recognised for wintering, migratory and breeding waders (including declining species such as Eurasian curlew and bar-tailed godwit), grey seal and lamprey.

This project brought together 32 partners to establish a coastal conservation corridor reconnecting 32,000 ha of heavily fragmented estuarine fringe in the Humber Estuary. This will benefit biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services such as improved flood defence and the restoration of mussel beds and reintroduction of 50,000 native oysters to filter contaminants and restore water quality. The main output was a feasibility report that scoped out the policy context and includes a series of spatial maps which form a comprehensive baseline of current conservation initiatives and identifies the key gaps in connectivity and opportunities.

Funds have been raised from the Defra Green Recovery Fund and Ørsted (£4.9m) to trial approaches to seascape-scale intertidal and transitional coastal habitat restoration. Focussing on opportunities and key gaps in connectivity, progressing concepts for 3 agriculture, 5 marine and 4 urban and industrial projects which will demonstrate to stakeholders the wider benefits of restoring the connectivity of the coastal fringe, thus encourage the scaling up of activity across the landscape.

Project Partners