Compensatory Habitats: Defining Needs and Demonstrating Success

The Stour and Orwell estuaries on England's east coast are designated as sites of importance for nature conservation under the EC Birds Directive (79/409/EEC). However, over recent years, a number of significant port development projects - focussed on major ports at Felixstowe and Harwich - have been either undertaken or granted consent within the estuary system (the ‘Harwich Haven’).

This paper discusses the approach adopted to defining the mitigation measures and compensatory habitats required in order to progress, and to demonstrating the efficacy of such measures in maintaining the overall coherence of Natura 2000 sites, in relation to the predicted impacts of a proposal to construct a major container terminal at Bathside Bay.

Through the example provided by the Harwich Haven Authority and the Port of Felixstowe, this paper examines a successful approach to:

Enabling dredging and port development in an environment designated for its nature conservation importance.

Ensuring the delivery of appropriate mitigation and compensation based on good data and consultation.

Monitoring the performance of mitigation measures and compensatory habitat.

The acceptance of some (measured) risk in developing management strategies within a dynamic environment.

• Background

• Overview of the predicted effects of BBCT

• Definition of mitigation and compensation associated with BBCT

• Defining the characteristics of compensatory measures

• Monitoring success and the management of risk