Goal 14: Policies, processes and practices

The following page outlines specific policies, process and practices in support of Sustainable Development Goal 14 Life below water

Engagement activities 

Fresh-water ecosystems
We offer free educational programmes on fresh-water ecosystems, including water irrigation practices and water management/conservation, aimed at benefiting local and national communities. 
For example, Prof. Jamie Woodward’s research on microplastic accumulation in UK waterways has been highly influential. His work has been shared and co-developed with local anglers (Tame Rivers Anglers) and charities (Rivers Trust and Friends of the Earth) to shape UK policy and raise public awareness. This has been achieved through engaging videos, BBC documentaries with a global audience, and educational resources for school children.

In addition, our peatland restoration efforts, led by Professor Martin Evans, focus on flood mitigation and reducing greenhouse gases. This work is conducted in collaboration with Moors for the Future, the National Trust, the Environment Agency, United Utilities, Yorkshire Peat Partnership, and other partners.

Sustainable fisheries
We offer free educational programme and outreach for local and national communities on the sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism. For example, the overfishing of sharks and rays is the primary cause for their catastrophic (>80% of populations threatened with extinction) decline in the past 25 years. Our University’s Shiels lab contributed key images and a novel developmental scale for catsharks used in one of the largest educational citizen science outreach projects in the UK,  The Great Egg Hunt, run in partnership with The Shark Trust. Over the Easter weekend in 2022 a fantastic 7,560 eggcases were recorded across the UK and scaled using our data.  The images and scale has also been included in the Field Studies Centre leaflets used at their marines stations for teaching school groups across the UK, furthering our engagement with the public. 

Prof Holly Shiels is also working on the impact of fossil fuel-based pollution on commercially important fish like cod and halibut and has shared this work with local and global communities through an engaging video.  

Our NanoWhales Project has also been supporting the fight against the accumulation of plastic waste in the Mediterranean on life under water through the expeditions and the development and sharing of free resources highlighting the plight of the whales.

Overfishing
We offer free educational outreach activities for local and national communities to raise awareness about overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices. For example, Professor Holy Shiels worked in partnership with the Physiological Society – Europe’s largest network of physiologists – to create and share 4-video educational outreach video-blogs for local, national and international communities on location in the Arctic regarding the Greenland Shark and impact of overfishing in the Halibut fishing industry on this enigmatic species. We also partner with Sustainable Fish Cities, using educational outreach activities across Manchester to raise awareness about destructive fishing practices and promote sustainable fishing. 

Conservation and sustainable utilisation of the oceans
We support and organise events aimed to promote conservation and sustainable utilisation of the oceans, seas, lakes, rivers and marine resources. Our Shiels lab contributes to the Shark Trust and European Elasmobranch Society (a non-profit organisation coordinating European activities of national European organisations dedicated to the study, management or conservation of sharks, skates, rays, and chimaeras) meetings with student talks and keynote lectures on shark and ray conservation – for example see this link. The Shiels lab also works on sharks and climate change events in partnership with the BBC, through marine magazine activities and also through free events that have taken place in partnership with the Fisheries Society for the British Isles on video platforms that examine climate change and sharks in UK waters.

Professor Holly Shiels is the President of the Fisheries Society of the British Isles – a society that works to the benefit of fish biology and fisheries science. An example of a recent event that took part through this Presidency has been on Fish Habitat and Ecology in a Changing Climate.

Sustainable food policy

We have a policy to ensure that food on campus that comes from aquatic ecosystems is sustainably harvested. We have a Sustainable Food Policy (reviewed 2023) which includes sourcing sustainable seafood to help reduce the negative impacts on fish stocks, protect our marine environment and give customers better seafood choices. We ask all suppliers to adhere to this policy as part of the supplier selection and retender process.

Our ES website shows further ways we are committed to providing sustainable food, including working closely with the Marine Stewardship Council to only buy 100% certified seafood for food in residences, as outlined in our Animal Welfare Policy. We continue to work to ensure our food on campus maintains these standards each year, and in 2019 we were awarded the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) University of the Year in their annual Sustainable Seafood Forum and Awards.

Reducing marine pollution 

Our policies and processes help ensure that we prevent and reduce marine pollution of all kinds, which includes our policies on plastics (created 2022) and reducing the effect of land-based activities. 

We have processes to prevent polluted water entering the water system, including pollution caused by accidents and incidents at the university. As detailed in the Code of Practice for Design Teams, Sustainable Urban Drainage systems to drain surface water and minimise pollution need to be specified in the project. 

Our project tracker requires all building projects to: 

  • Reduce the total demand of potable water. 
  • Reduce storm water run-off and minimise negative environmental impact by using Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems. 

We ensure that we adhere to UK government guidelines on water discharge and standards to uphold water quality and protect ecosystems, wildlife, and human health and welfare. Our Environmental Sustainability Strategy addresses the prevention of marine pollution and has a target of zero reportable pollution incidents to air, land and water across the University estate.

Maintaining aquatic ecosystems 

We work directly to maintain and extend existing ecosystems and their biodiversity, especially ecosystems under threat. We are working directly with new Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) into the roles of Ofwat, the Environment Agency and the Defra Secretary of State in the regulation of combined sewer overflows (CSOs) in England that are having harmful effects on plant and animal life. Our NanoWhales Project has also been supporting the fight against the accumulation of plastic waste in the Mediterranean on life under water through the expeditions and the development and sharing of free resources highlighting the plight of the whales.

We have several plans to minimise physical, chemical and biological alterations of related aquatic ecosystems. For all new building construction and operations, we have an Environmental Sustainability Project Tracker which has several sections (pg 4,7) that focus on minimising any impacts that could alter related aquatic ecosystems. 

Our training procedures also provide regulation and guidance to ensure the correct use and disposal of biological or chemical substances that may be toxic to aquatic health. We take actions to minimize impacts on nearby aquatic ecosystems, and this includes COSHH training procedures.  

Monitoring the health of aquatic systems

We have conducted ground-breaking research by monitoring microplastic pollution in UK’s rivers. Our monitoring has shown current estimates are severely underestimating actual levels, and we have found that this issue originates upstream in river catchments. These findings are now being used to advocate for tighter regulations on waste flowing into urban waterways.   

We also undertake regular monitoring of the health of our local aquatic ecosystems: 

Firs Environmental Research Station and Botanical Grounds Pond 

The pond, ~ 6x4m in area, ~1m deep with a marginal shelf, is ornamental in nature with flag stones around the edge. The back of the pond has various stones and marginal plants providing exit and entry for wildlife. The rockery behind also provides sites for amphibian hibernacula.The pond contains no fish and is maintained with promoting nature in mind, with minimal disturbance. Excessive algae and duckweed; Lemna minor is removed in summer and excess decaying plant material and leaves are removed in autumn. Planting is largely ornamental with Nymphaea water lilies and Iris. Native plant species include Bogbean; Menyanthes trifoliata, Marsh Fern; Thelypteris palustris, Lesser Bullrush; Typha angustifolia and Amphibious Bistort, Persicaria amphibia. There is a healthy population of newts, frogs, dragon and damselflies, and many other insects, crustacea and amphipods. There are also visits from Mallard ducks, Grey herons and other local birdlife. 

The Botanical Grounds Pond allows us to collaborate with local community partners and students to maintain this shared aquatic ecosystem, using it as a source of practical and academic knowledge exchange.  

Michael Smith Quad Pond 

There is a pond in Michael Smith Quad. A survey carried out in 2022 found that the onsite pond was assessed to be in moderate condition due to the pond having good water quality based upon visual appearance, less than 10% of the pond being covered with duckweed or filamentous algae, an absence of fish and non-native plant species, and at least 50% of the ponds area being covered by both marginal and aquatic plants where the pond is less than 3m deep. 

Technologies preventing aquatic ecosystem damage

We are working with industry to prevent aquatic ecosystem damage. Our work in hydrology and hydrochemistry to understand metals, carbon and gases in water systems has led to the development of a highly successful spin-out company, Salamander, which has brought to market two cutting-edge pieces of water monitoring software – chloroclam and hydroclam – which are being used in industry to improve water and marine system monitoring. We have also undertaken work to understand hypoxia – dead fish zones – which has directly informed marine industry practice on aquatic ecosystems.

Water disposal guidelines

Our university has water quality standards and guidelines for water discharges (to uphold water quality in order to protect ecosystems, wildlife, and human health and welfare). Our policies surrounding water quality standards are outlined in our policy on the Management of Water Systems and the Control of Legionella. We have implemented these guidelines in order to protect and mitigate risks to human health. We have also registered licenses with the Environmental Agency for water discharges relating to our Jodrell Bank campus. 

As a University we are committed to supporting the circular economy by considering the whole lifecycle of the products we purchase and the resources we use and have formed a Single Use Plastic Action Group to develop and implement an associated action plan. Our Single-Use Plastic Action Group developed the corresponding Responsible Plastics action plan outlining the University’s approach to tackling single-use plastic. Our sustainability website also includes our progress to date alongside advice and guidance for staff and students on reducing their plastic consumption . Our Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub (SMI Hub) led by the Henry Royce Institute has also been set-up to support SMEs from across Greater Manchester to develop innovative solutions to develop a more sustainable approach to plastics use and lower their carbon footprints.

Watershed management 

We have implemented a watershed management strategy based on location specific diversity of aquatic species. As outlined in our Environmental Sustainability strategy (Section 5.6), we are committed to achieving zero reportable pollution incidents impacting air, land, or water throughout the University estate.

 In addition, our Valuing Nature Action Plan includes ambitious goals: 1) increasing green space by 10% by 2028 from a 2018 baseline, 2) improving the quality of green space by 30% from 2022 levels, and 3) achieving a minimum of 20% biodiversity net gain on all major construction and refurbishment projects. These targets are designed to enhance the conservation of natural habitats and species to support our local watershed, playing a critical role in maintaining key ecosystem services such as water filtration and nutrient cycling.

Through regular biodiversity surveys, we actively monitor and identify key species and their habitats, shaping conservation strategies that align with local aquatic & land based ecological needs. To support these habitats and improve water management, we have implemented green infrastructure such as rain gardens and bioswales, which help manage stormwater and minimize runoff into nearby rivers. This approach enhances both water quality and biodiversity within the watershed.

Our Design Code of Practice (Section 9.1.16) and Environmental Sustainability Project Tracker further integrate sustainable urban drainage strategies into design and construction, reducing runoff flow and safeguarding aquatic ecosystems. For example, we are reducing runoff into the River Medlock on campus, and at Jodrell Bank, we protect local watercourses to support species like the great crested newt, which relies on healthy aquatic environments.

Aquatic stewardship

We support a wide range of practical ongoing and ad hoc programmes of work to encourage and maintain good aquatic stewardship practices.

We are working with UK, Cambodian and Indian government agencies on reducing arsenic from ground-water systems; enhancing community engagement with rivers and canals; and working with UK water regulators to combat microplastic pollution in rivers and oceans.

Our Sustainable Seafood Policy commits us to a programme of work that adopts the Marine Stewardship Council’s sustainable fish standard. This means that any fish on the Marine Conservation Societies endangered list will not be accept or used in any café restaurant or processing site across the University. The University has also signed up to the Sustainable Fish Cities Pledge. This ensures that we will commit to take the appropriate steps to buy sustainable seafood, to protect precious marine environments fish stocks and support good fishing livelihoods.

Collaborating to maintain shared aquatic ecosystems

We collaborate with the local community across a variety of efforts to maintain shared aquatic ecosystems.

We’ve partnered with the River Stewardship Company which works with local communities to repopulate Sphagnum Moss in the nearby Peak District to increase water retention in highlands and reduce flooding downstream.

We’re also working with Manchester City Council on the project, Our rivers our city. As part of this, there is a range of local community collaboration on work such as river restoration and habitat enhancement.