Manuals, training and resources available from the RRC to help plan effective monitoring for demonstrating project success

1. Planning Monitoring Programmes
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Dr Jenny Mant
Science and Technical Manager
www.therrc.co.uk

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• Ecosystem restoration is a fast growing¹, yet evidence-
based assessments are limited
• Still only ~18% of completed projects have some form
of monitoring²
• Essential step to:
– Develop scientific understanding
– Improve best practice in the field
– Adaptive management
– Meet legal requirements (e.g. WFD, EU Directives)
Sources: ¹UN Environment Programme
²RRC’s National River Restoration Inventory (NRRI) – April 2015
Monitoring ecological restoration

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Constraints
• Little money for monitoring and assessment of
river restoration projects
• Needed a cost effective approach to increase
understanding of the effectiveness of different
river restoration approaches.

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Water low in pollution
Full of native wildlife
Natural
structure and
connectivity
Sufficient water
flow
Rivers are complex and
dynamic so need clear
integrated objectives and
clear foci
But………..

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• SMART project objectives provides framework of
monitoring
• Helps define ‘success’ and identify what needs
monitoring
• Reduces risk of not being able to show what is
happening
• Also helps you to identify what baseline data to collect
and when
So…….

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Specific
• Set tangible, detailed and well defined targets which
can be evaluated by specific monitoring methods.
Measurable
• What is feasible related to quantity, quality,
equipment, expertise and time.
Achievable
• Determined from a review of evidence of success on
other, similar sites.
Realistic
• Consider available resources (money, people, time)
and factor in longer-term post-project management
Time-bound
• Set deadlines for actions, but allow some flexibility.
Timing is crucial both for works and monitoring.
The SMART approach

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http://www.therrc.co.uk
/rrc_pragmo.php

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Objective
Aim: Increase salmon spawning and egg
survival by introducing gravels and narrowing
the river to increase flow velocity variability.

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http://www.wiser.eu/results/conceptual-models/

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Setting objectives – stage 1
Determine the overall project aim.
For example:
• Restore floodplain
dynamics by reconnecting
to the river
This is what you wish to achieve,
but does not define how to do it or measure
success.

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Setting objectives – stage 2
Aim : Restore floodplain dynamics by reconnecting the
river
So specific targets:
• Cut new sinuous course at a new bed level to
encourage more natural floodplain connectivity
Establish floodplain vegetation by planting
• Lessen flood risk to properties
Now identify your key aim(s)
and specific targets

12. Example
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SMART objectives:
 Remove the weir structure by August 20XX and complete channel narrowing works within one
month
 Reduce the channel width by 30% for 60m upstream of the weir using locally-sourced tethered
wood
 Increase the total number of fish (abundance) passing through the reach in November
 Increase total number of Brown Trout spawning on upstream gravels within two seasons

13. Then set your monitoring programme
• Why – do the project? What are the objectives/specific
targets that will be monitored? (e.g. increase no of
riffles and clean gravel habitat by 80% over 2km of
river).
• What – are you trying to observe?
(monitor increased habitat diversity/
change in macro-invertebrate
assemblages).
• How – are you going to monitoring? What techniques
will used to collect data and what assessment methods
are you using? (e.g. habitat mapping, 3 min macro-
invertebrate kick-sampling).
rrc@therrc.co.uk 01234 752979
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14. Planning you monitoring cont…
• Data – Do you have access to any pre-
project/baseline data? If not, can this be
collected? If not ask yourself what your data
collection will show.
• When will data be collected?
(month/season, duration of
monitoring, sampling repeats)?
• Who is responsible for monitoring and will all
data be comparable?
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15. The RRC support tool
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www.therrc.co.uk

16. The check list
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• Have you set SMART project objectives?
• Can these be measured and thereby
monitored?
• Have you checked what base line data
there is… can it be replicated?
• Will your monitoring tell you if you have
achieved your objectives and targets?