Society must act to save nature and wild places from climate change, warns a new report.
In their first climate risk assessment, wildlife trusts around the country including the Norfolk Wildlife Trust have examined the impacts of the changing climate on the reserves they manage.
Changing Nature weighs up the risks and looks ahead at what is needed to help nature adapt and survive in the future.
It predicts that by the 2050s half of all reserves will have more than 30 days of very high fire risk yearly, a 1C increase in temperatures on hot summer days and falling river flows.
In Norfolk, sea level rises will threaten freshwater habitats along coastal reserves and freshwater habitats of the Broads through surge tides and saltwater ingress, while drought and lack of rainfall will also threaten sensitive sites.
Wildlife trusts want to see increased effort from governments, business and other landowners on climate adaptation, including greater investment in nature-based solutions and a specific focus on resilience.
Kevin Hart, director of conservation for Norfolk Wildlife Trust, said: “Here in Norfolk the changing climate is going to have a significant impact on the fortunes of our most vulnerable wildlife. If sea levels rise as predicted, our iconic Norfolk coast and Broads landscapes and the wildlife they support are under threat.
“Knowing the predicted results of climate change in the UK it is crucial we act now to help wildlife gradually adapt to our changing climate to avoid catastrophic losses of critical habitats that support species including bittern, marsh harrier and water vole.
“Norfolk Wildlife Trust is already taking action at our sites for example in partnership with the Environment Agency at Cley Marshes and Hickling Broad. By carefully increasing Cley’s short-term resilience to sea level rise at the coast we are buying wildlife time as we create replacement habitat further in land.”
Norfolk Wildlife Trust is working with the Environment Agency to adapt on-site water management systems to protect freshwater habitats at Cley and Salthouse for as long as possible, buying time for wildlife to adapt and move.
New wetlands are being built on sites further inland to compensate for the freshwater losses on the coast. They include the realignment of flood defences at Hickling National Nature Reserve, to restore naturally functioning floodplain conditions on what was previously drained land.
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