IWAC publishes annual report

Highlights include:

· observing first-hand how inland waterways are being used to tackle social exclusion, from a fact finding visit to the Sobriety Project in Goole, East Yorkshire;

· producing 'Awareness and Appreciation of the Canal Network in Scotland', which recorded the progress made since the Scottish Government produced its policy statement on Scotland’s canals in 2002;

· publishing ‘Balancing the Needs of Navigation and Aquatic Wildlife’, which offered guidance to everyone involved with non-tidal inland waterways, so that they can be used for sustainable navigation whilst protecting and, where practicable, enhancing biodiversity.

John Edmonds, IWAC’s chair, said:

"IWAC has had a busy and successful year in support of canals in Scotland and inland waterways in England and Wales.

"Our plans for this coming year include us continuing the joint research programme, in partnership with Defra, into the benefits of inland waterways.

""We will also publish a report on existing revenue sources for a selection of inland waterways in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States. This will help inform IWAC’s thinking and should help policy makers in this country when looking at sustainable sources of inland waterway revenues for the future."

The report is available on IWAC’s website at www.iwac.org.uk/reports.