After a successful pilot operation and with training now across two sites, Nkhotakota and Majete Wildlife Reserves, both are managed by African Parks in partnership with Malawi’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW). The troops long-term goal will ensure the rangers are better skilled and able to respond appropriately to the threat of poaching.

Poaching and the illegal wildlife trade are responsible for the loss of countless species and are driving the decline of many African animals including elephants, rhinos and lions.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

We can be incredibly proud of the important work our Armed Forces are doing to help protect the magnificent animals of Malawi and to bring about the end of the cruel practice of illegal wildlife trading. By passing on their world-class, tried and tested skills, we can be sure that UK troops are aiding a highly skilled and professional network of park rangers, one that can effectively combat the threat poachers pose to the African wildlife.

While British soldiers are working with rangers to support the protection of wildlife, the Department for International Development is working with poorer communities who live close to wildlife reserves to create job opportunities and improve vital services.

Foreign Office Minister for Africa Harriett Baldwin visited communities living on the edge of Majete Wildlife Reserve where she announced an additional £1 million of UK aid support to improve the lives of people living next to national parks.

Minster for Africa Harriett Baldwin said:

The UK is acting now to stamp out the illegal wildlife trade, which not only threatens the existence of some of our most precious species, but also inflicts damage on local communities and fuels corruption and crime which hold back development for some of the world’s poorest countries.

By bringing together our diplomatic, military and development support we’re helping
countries like Malawi combat this crime, and also helping local people to benefit from
living alongside these beautiful species, which is boosting economic growth and
stability.

The increase in the UK Armed Forces’ support to Malawi has been funded by the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (DEFRA) as part of a three-year plan
agreed by the Ministry of Defence and DEFRA.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove said:

Wildlife crime does not respect borders so we must share skills and expertise worldwide. The Malawi enforcement project demonstrates the global leadership we set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan. We are introducing one of the world’s toughest bans on ivory sales and will host the next international Illegal Wildlife Trade conference in London later this year.

The Government of Malawi has taken an effective and proactive approach to combating the illegal wildlife trade in their country, enhancing penalties for wildlife crime and partnering with African Parks and the UK Government to drastically reduce poaching activity and secure its parks for the benefit of future generations.

The CEO of African Parks, Peter Fearnhead said:

The Malawian Government has shown great leadership and commitment in
conserving its parks, where together we’ve recruited, trained and outfitted rangers to
establish robust law enforcement teams utilising technology and community
engagement to secure the landscapes.

Effective park management, including law enforcement and community
development, is essential in protecting the last of the wild and combatting the illegal
wildlife trade at its source. The partnership with the UK Government importantly
advances our ability to ensure that these increasingly threatened areas continue to
function as critical sanctuaries benefitting millions of people and animals across
Africa.

The Environment Agency’s Adur tidal walls scheme in Shoreham-by-Sea is making great strides as it nears the final stages of construction with completion expected by the end of the year.

A major component to making good progress has been the use of the Giken press piling train to drive in the steel piles. This is a Giken silent piling unit, power pack, and crane mounted onto the piles (a ‘reaction stand’), using the installed piles as tracks – like a train. The Giken piler drives piles silently by pressing them into the ground. This is located at the front of the ‘train’ pressing piles in at the front. The whole train walks along, following the Giken silent piler to install piles in a linear fashion.

This equipment has proved to be key to working in the tight spaces between the Shoreham houseboats and the houses landside of the path, driving in the steel piles to form the wall’s core support.

The planning process needed to be carefully managed to ensure that stakeholder agreements were completed on time because of the specialist Giken press piling train required to install the sheet piles. This needed to be booked 6 months in advance as there are only a few in the world. Scheme contract partners Team Van Oord developed a stakeholder engagement programme to set out the process to obtain the agreements and the roles of project team organisations at each stage.

Following completion of sheet piling in the W5 reach*, the Giken train will be decommissioned on Thursday 2 August. The W5 reach is scheduled for reopening this autumn.

*The 7.2 kilometre long defence is split into 10 sections labelled as E for east or W for west of the river, ie E1, E2, E3, W1, W2, W3, W4, W5, W6, W7.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said:

We would like to thank everyone in Shoreham-by-Sea for their continued patience and support. More than two-thirds of the Shoreham Adur tidal walls flood defence scheme has now been completed. Having started construction in October 2016 we expect to finish by the end of this year.

A Team Van Oord spokesperson said:

In the W5 reach we have had to install some 1,176 sheet piles – each one 11 metres long. The work was complicated by being close to 40 houseboats along a stretch of 700m. However, we made sure to consult with stakeholders and houseboat owners keeping them informed on developments.

Thanks to their cooperation, we were able to continue the pile driving works in this reach without closing a larger area to the public.

Further information about the scheme is available on GOV.UK.

In addition, there is a dedicated visitor centre for the project, located in the Beach Green car park in Shoreham, and open from midday to 5pm Monday to Friday.

Contact details: email shorehamwestbank@environment-agency.gov.uk or write to:

For general information on how to prepare for flooding and the latest flood warnings in force please visit our floodline page or ring Floodline on 0345 9881188.

Notes to editors

The Shoreham Adur tidal walls scheme, made up of raised walls and embankments along the River Adur, is being constructed by the Environment Agency. Once complete, it will reduce the tidal flood risk to thousands of homes and commercial properties in the area, as well as protecting important local infrastructure such as roads, railway lines and Shoreham Airport. It is part of the Environment Agency’s 6-year plan to reduce the risk of flooding to at least 300,000 homes by 2020/21.

Adur tidal walls scheme in numbers

• 7.2km of defences
• 2,527 properties protected
• 2.5km of steel sheet piling
• 3km of flood embankment
• 1km of concrete walls
• ½km of flood glass
• ½km of rock revetment
• 2,316 lizards and slow worms relocated
• 14,000m2 saltmarsh habitat to be created

Other key points of the scheme

The scheme will reduce the risk of flooding to over 2,300 homes and 169 commercial properties.
Consultation events in 2014 and 2015 provided public feedback on the designs now incorporated into the detailed designs.

The scheme boundary includes the nationally designated Adur Estuary Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a RSPB reserve. These areas have over-wintering bird populations and significant areas of saltmarsh and mudflat. Saltmarsh and mudflat are priority habitats that have been identified as requiring conservation action under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act (2006).

The Environment Agency is aiming to minimise loss of saltmarsh habitat by moving the embankment next to the airport further back from its current position to create new saltmarsh habitat.

If you follow the conditions in this regulatory position statement (RPS) you can spread TSE on land for irrigation to benefit agriculture or the environment during prolonged dry weather.

Version 1

A high-level summary of the problematic waste inventory within the UK nuclear industry as collected in 2017.

The Environment Agency publish permits that they issue under the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED).

This decision includes the permit and decision document for:

• Operator name: Changing Waste Ltd
• Installation name: Changing Waste
• Permit number: EPR/FB3601CJ/A001