Marshes or motorways? Fight to protect wetlands

28 Jan 2008

Wetlands are a vitally important habitat for wildlife, and they are disappearing faster than rainforests. Half of the world’s wetlands have been lost over the past century, and the trend is continuing.

Gwent Wildlife Trust is striving to raise awareness of the importance of wetlands, and to summon public support against the latest threat to a prime site in Wales – the Gwent Levels.

Members of the public are being urged to support the Trust's campaign against the construction of the proposed M4 relief road which, it says, will wreak havoc with a haven for wildlife. The Trust is holding a "Marshes or Motorway?" day at its Magor Marsh reserve near Newport on TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, ahead of World Wetlands Day, which is held on February 2 each year.

Julian Branscombe, Chief Executive of Gwent Wildlife Trust, said:

"Mankind has spent most of the last millennium progressively draining wetlands. However, we are fortunate in Wales to have some places left where rare aquatic flora and fauna survive.

"The Gwent Levels is a prime example. This is Wales' finest landscape, and includes two of Gwent Wildlife Trust's nature reserves - Magor Marsh and Solutia Meadows. Water voles - our fastest-declining mammals - have been found there. Rare plants like frogbit and insects such as the silver water beetle can be seen. More than 150 nationally-significant invertebrates occur on the network of reens (drainage ditches) - some of which date back to Roman times.

"Given this wealth of wetland wildlife, it is nothing short of criminal to see plans by the Welsh Assembly Government to drive a motorway through this precious resource. Five miles of the wetland would be directly affected by this monstrous road proposal - an ill-conceived and unsustainable relief road for the existing M4 around Newport - and much more of this web of waterway could be badly damaged by pollution caused by construction impacts and road run-off.

"There will be pressure for new development along the road and GWT fears that there will be road kills of rare species such as otter and barn owl."

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• GWT is a supporter of the Campaign Against the Levels Motorway. To get involved, contact JB or visit www.savethelevels.org.uk

Julian Branscombe is available for interview and can be contacted on 01600 740358 or 07748 321989

• World Wetlands Day is an annual event to commemorate the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands, which took place in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar. Each year, government agencies, conservation organisations, and other bodies use the day to raise public awareness of wetland values and benefits.

The M4 relief road plan – Gwent Wildlife Trust’s response

§ If the M4 relief road between Magor and Castleton goes ahead, it is inevitable that there will be damage to the nationally-important Gwent Levels Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs)

§ The Gwent Levels comprises an ancient farming landscape of grazing marshes and drainage ditches

§ The Levels have legal protection as SSSIs because of the rich wildlife that has developed in the reens (drainage ditches) over a thousand years.

§ Water voles - Britain's fastest-declining mammals - have been found at the Magor Marsh reserve.

§ The reens are rich in plant life and hold 25 rare species of water-loving plants. These special conditions also support 144 species of rare dragonflies, beetles and other tiny creatures.

§ The combination of drainage ditches, grazing marshes and ancient hedges also provide ideal conditions for otters, water voles, bats and great crested newts -, all protected species -, and four different breeding waders (redshank, lapwing, curlew and snipe.) In recent years otters have been recovering in numbers after years of decline. Now the biggest threat is from road accidents, and a new motorway would mean many more deaths.

§ The Gwent Levels is one of the largest surviving areas of ancient grazing marshes in Britain. It now covers just 5,700 ha. because about 4000 ha. have already been lost through industrial development, roads, houses, building development and agricultural changes.

Grazing marshes are now so rare, the Welsh Assembly Government has said it wants no further losses ( CROW Act 2000 Section 74).How does that fit with building a new road which must destroy more of the Levels?

§ The full potential for damage to the Gwent Levels of building a new six-lane motorway cannot be known before the detail of the route is published. The Gwent Levels SSSIs stretch from Caldicot in the east to Castleton, near Cardiff, in the west.

§ The Welsh Assembly Government has put sustainable development at the heart of its agenda for the future of Wales. In GWT’s view, that the decision to proceed with the M4 relief road absolutely contradicts this.