Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
For ecosystem rehabilitation to be socially
desirable and considered worthy of promotion, it
needs to encompass cultural values and achieve a
sustainable balance between ecological and societal
requirements (Pfadenhauer, 2001; McDonald
et al.
,
2004; Gobster
et al.
, 2007; Braioni
et al
., this
volume). This chapter uses research results from
two sites in England - the urban River Skerne
and the rural River Cole - to demonstrate how
public engagement, and specifically the inclusion
of a social science component in the design,
can improve the outcomes of river rehabilitation
schemes and increase the support for similar work
in the future.
Case studies
The River Skerne in Darlington, County Durham,
and the River Cole near Swindon, Wiltshire, were
included in a joint initiative between the UK and
Denmark to demonstrate best practice in urban
and rural river rehabilitation and to encourage
river rehabilitation across Europe (Figure 20.1).
In 1993, the newly-formed River Restoration
Project (now the River Restoration Centre; Holmes
and Janes, this volume), together with South
Jutland Council, Denmark, obtained funding from
the European Union LIFE project (L'Instrument
Financier pour l'Environnement) and financial
support from local river management and other
organizations to rehabilitate reaches on the River
Skerne and River Cole in England and the River
Brede in Denmark (Holmes and Nielsen, 1998).
The wider aim of this demonstration project was
to promote further rehabilitation work, so sites
were chosen where degraded river reaches could
be improved successfully with a low risk of
failure. The sites were also chosen to offer the
greatest potential for enhancing wildlife, landscape,
recreation, water quality, fisheries, amenity and
other local interests (Holmes and Nielsen, 1998;
Vivash
et al.
, 1998). Work included re-meandering
previously straightened or diverted channels and
these demonstration sites have been important
in encouraging larger river rehabilitation schemes
(Holmes and Janes, this volume).
Figure 20.1
Location of the River Skerne and River
Cole rehabilitation sites in England.
River Skerne
The 2 km long rehabilitation reach on the River
Skerne is located in an urban area on the
northern outskirts of Darlington in north-east
England, where the river flows through open
green space surrounded by housing and industrial
estates. During the last 150 years, the River
Skerne has been extensively modified (the channel
straightened and dredged) as a result of industrial
and urban development. The rehabilitation site
location has a rich industrial heritage, including
the world's first railway line - from Stockton to
Darlington (Eden
et al.
, 1999).
