Natural England is responsible for overseeing the management and assessment of sites with national and international designations for wildlife, including Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs).
A key aspect of this work is defining the Conservation Objectives for each site. Conservation objectives define and identify favourable conditions relating to the site and inform management decisions.
Natural England commissioned this work to review key quantitative information on the response of the characteristic biological community of river types in England and the UK to organic pollution stress gradients.
The results will be used to reconsider the adequacy of the Conservation Objective targets set for protecting SSSI condition.