Harbour mud that used to be dumped at sea will now rebuild an Essex saltmarsh — and shelter rare seabirds

Less than 1% of the sand and gravel dredged from Britain's harbours is ever put to use; the rest is dumped at sea. On the Blackwater Estuary in Essex, a £2.5 million (about $3.3 million) project called BUDS is flipping that habit: sediment from Harwich Haven's routine dredging will rebuild eroding shingle beaches and saltmarsh at Cobmarsh Island and Old Hall Point. The restored banks give endangered little terns, ringed plovers and oystercatchers somewhere safe to nest, while the marsh soaks up wave energy and cuts flood risk for coastal homes. The RSPB, Essex Wildlife Trust, ZSL and local conservationists are delivering it together, as the first phase of restoring over 320 hectares of Thames coast by 2030.

SDG 15 · Life on land — Mechanism: institutional program