Wetlands for our Common Future
“Protecting Wetlands for our Common Future” is the theme of COP15 (Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance), held 23rd – 31st July 2025.
The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance gave rise to Ramsar-designated wetlands, the annual World Wetlands Awareness Day (2nd February) and ongoing international efforts to promote the conservation of this critical ecosystem.
Wetlands are important for human health, economic well-being, wildlife habitation, and mitigating severe weather. Wetlands support 40% of all known plant and animal species, including many endangered, threatened and endemic species that can only survive in certain wetland habitats - and nowhere else.
“Human societies are intricately linked to our planet’s wetlands. These invaluable ecosystems make our existence on Earth possible.” – Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands.
People depend on wetlands for livelihoods in agriculture, tourism and recreation, and the future of wetlands needs our united effort to protect, restore, and conserve these pivotal ecosystems.
Atlantic Pumps reflects on the strong relationship between quarries (open mining) and wetlands in countries that have high ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) expectations such as the UK.
What is a wetland?
A wetland is any area of ground surface that is saturated or flooded – either seasonally or permanently. They can be entirely natural such as peatlands, and estuaries, or man-made such as fishing ponds, former quarry pits, rice paddies, and salt-harvesting pans. Rivers that meander, ebb and flow also provide areas of saturated ground. This saturated soil acts like a sponge by filtering, storing, and slowly releasing water, creating a rich habitat for a diverse range of flora (hydrophytic vegetation), insects, and fauna. Additionally, many wetlands provide a significant carbon ‘sink’ and protect us from flooding and wildfires by moderating seasonal climate extremes.
What is the effect of quarry activity on wetlands?
Atlantic Pumps is pleased to work with some of the best-run quarry and mining companies in the UK, Norway, across the European Union, and further afield, helping them reduce their energy consumption and improve outcomes within their fluid handling processes.
Today’s blue-chip quarry companies gladly embrace their corporate social responsibilities and often invest in voluntarily action to take their environmental mitigations to the next level. Going above their statutory obligations demonstrates their company values and sustainable strength to clients and investors alike.
In the UK planning system, before any quarry is given the go-ahead, hydrology and ecological experts conduct detailed surveys and predictive modelling of the planned activity. During the activate working stage of the quarry, restoration works begin almost immediately after sections are worked. A crucial part of any environmental management system for quarries is to have comprehensive water management plans in place. This details how the movement, abstraction, discharge and use of water on site is managed.
Depending on the geography, topography, and local community considerations, many ex-quarries are turned over to a mix of biodiverse habitats and nature-based recreation.
To learn more, we sat down with Enrique Morán Montero, a charted environmentalist and National Restoration Manager employed by Tarmac PLC to oversee the restoration of their quarries.
“Wetlands are one of the most important wildlife habitats that Tarmac helps create,” Morán Montero tells us. Tarmac works hand-in-hand with local wildlife trusts and charities including the RSPB. These organisations help guide what habitats are priority for the region and usually take over the management of the final reserve or country park, once Tarmac has completed the restorative groundworks.
Langford Lowfields, a wildlife-rich, wetland nature reserve sitting on the banks of the River Trent is a flagship partnership project involving the RSPB and Tarmac which showcases wetland habitat creation on a large scale. A thriving reedbed sits at the heart of the reserve, home to booming bitterns, bearded tits, avocets, wildfowl, and surrounded by a tapestry of wet-meadow wildflowers. Other former quarries, such as Panshanger Park are a co-siting of nature reserve and country park, delivering nature-based recreation and education around the importance of caring for the natural environment.
At Panshanger Park, a former Tarmac sand and gravel quarry, the restoration provided the opportunity to increase and enhance the wetland habitats throughout the valley floor, including restoring the River Mimram’s path to its pre-18th century natural course. The resulting mix of river, lakes, and wet grassland has brought a large increase in species including water vole, dragonflies and damselflies, teal, and shoveler, and the access facilities make it a great place to watch wildlife.
“All our extractive sites have a restoration plan in place a restoration plan in place” says Enrique Morán Montero. It’s the job of Enrique and his team to work closely with partner organisations to maximise the environmental and community benefits from restoration plans on quarries from the Mendips to Inverness. “We look at the hydrology, landscaping, natural history, and priority species of the area to plan for the right habitats in the right place. Many times it makes sense to create wetlands, and these are vital systems as habitats and water provisioning for a rich diversity of species,”
Some examples of other wetlands include Holborough Marsh in Kent, once Tarmac’s largest cement quarry and now a SSSI classified 35-hectare thriving mix of tidal and freshwater marshes, and Stonecastle Quarry (also in Kent).
Morán Montero tells us “The biodiversity and climate crisis makes our wetlands all the more important, as the ecosystem plays a really important role in alleviating flooding events, providing water during times of scarcity, and recharging underground aquifers.
“That’s something that we [work at] during the entire lifetime of our quarries, doing progressive restoration and restoring sites as we work them.
“We donated 122 hectares at Langford Lowfields to the RSPB in 2023, leaving a lasting legacy of our restoration work there.”
Tarmac brings their valuable knowledge of soils, topography, and hydrology to bear when planning wetland creation. “If you don’t get the soil right, then you’re up against it…sand and gravel quarries make ideal wetland habitats due to their location and the nature of our operations” explained Enrique.
The Tarmac restoration team has access to in-house landscape architects, geologists, soil scientists, ecologists, and heritage experts, in addition to bringing independent SMEs (subject matter experts) onboard as required.
Companies such as Tarmac demonstrate how circulatory can work in so many ways. Whilst well-known for producing sustainable building materials - their extensive use of recycled materials make them a net absorber of waste - their wider contribution extends far and wide.
Look out for our upcoming article on practical ways Atlantic Pumps helps Tarmac and other companies protect and enhance neighbouring wetlands and watercourses. If you have a current water abstraction, discharge, or other water management project coming up, speak to us now about our rapidly deployable water filtering, flow-control, and monitoring systems.
