Scientists are gathering for a once-in-a-decade summit on how to protect Britain's most threatened wildlife habitat.In centuries gone by reed beds were common throughout the UK but today they are mostly confined to isolated coastal areas of East Anglia - in fact if all the reed beds in the UK were gathered together they would cover an area only slightly larger than the London Borough of Ealing. A report published last year stated that out of 20 key sites, 12 were under imminent threat due to sea level rise caused by climate change.
The largest gathering of reed bed conservation experts for ten years will take place at Leicester University on Tuesday (December 1) to discuss how to protect the habitat which is home to birds like bitterns and marsh harriers as well as rare wainscot moths, swallowtail butterflies, eels and water voles.
The RSPB owns 12 per cent of the UK's total reed beds and has set itself the target of doubling the area of reed beds it manages by 2030. The RSPB is currently in the middle of a two year project called Bringing Reed beds to Life during which conservationists have been surveying insects, fish and other wildlife in reed beds to try and work out how they can be better protected.
Nick Droy, who is heading the project, said, "Reed beds are very important for all kinds of wildlife, but they are also in great danger. This event will be bringing together experts in reed bed ecology from different organisations so we can all work to preserve this amazing habitat.
"There is such a small area of reed bed left in the UK and if we lose that then many of the species it supports would become extinct in this country. This would be a tragedy, and we must do all we can now to make sure it never happens."
