At this year’s Annual Joint Meeting of the Chichester Harbour Conservancy and Advisory Committee presentations were made on the Conservancy’s new environmental initiative.
A recent study by Natural England has shown a 60% decline in Chichester Harbour’s saltmarsh since 1946.Contributing factors to this loss are coastal squeeze from sea defences, sea level rise and excess nitrates in the harbour waters.It is also evident from research that coastal habitats provide positive ecosystems by storing carbon, nitrates and phosphorus, helping to mitigate the effects of climate change.
The initiative, known as Chichester Harbour Protection and Recovery of Nature (CHaPRoN,) will focus on the priority habitats of saltmarsh, seagrass, and oysters which are considered to be at the highest risk of further loss and also offer positive carbon fixing properties.
The Conservancy has brought together a large group of individuals and organisations to make CHaPRoN a success. This includes Dr Paul Mansell who specialises in business operating model design & delivery and programme management capability enhancement which will form an integral part of the project.
ABPmer a leading specialist in marine and coastal habitat creation, restoration and protection bring their knowledge and experience to look at the challenges faced in Chichester Harbour and create a ‘baseline’ from which CHaPRoN can start restoring the harbour.
The University of Brighton have submitted a PhD proposal to the Conservancy to underpin the restoration project of the harbour.The work will look at environmental stressors, particularly contaminants at cellular and molecular level. Stressors such as pharmaceuticals and microplastics may impact the health and physiology of marine organisms.
Southern Water have voiced a willingness to support the CHaPRoN initiative, following the company’s recent announcement of a £5 million environment fund as the water company seeks involvement in projects providing environmental improvement in our area.

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