Water voles are one of the UK’s most rapidly declining mammal species and are highly vulnerable to habitat loss, habitat fragmentation and predation by invasive non-native American mink. Effective survey, mitigation and management require a thorough understanding of water vole ecology, habitat requirements, legal protection and the practical measures needed to conserve and restore populations.
The Competency Standard for Water Vole Survey, Mitigation and Management provides a structured framework for professionals undertaking water vole-related work. It defines the knowledge, skills and experience required to survey, assess, mitigate impacts on, and manage water vole populations and their habitats to a consistent professional standard.
The framework covers a broad range of water vole ecology practices, including legislation and licensing, survey design and implementation, impact assessment, mitigation and compensation planning, habitat management, population conservation and reporting. It supports practitioners at all stages of their professional development, from those building foundational knowledge through to specialists leading complex projects and providing expert technical advice.
Purpose of this Framework
This competency standard has been developed to:
- Promote high standards of professional practice in water vole survey, mitigation and management.
- Support career development and progression for ecological practitioners working with protected mammals.
- Provide a benchmark for competency assessment and professional recognition.
- Encourage consistency in survey design, impact assessment, mitigation planning and habitat management.
- Ensure practitioners understand their responsibilities relating to legislation, licensing, species welfare, health and safety, and biosecurity.
Raising Standards
Understanding what good practice looks like and how to develop your competence in different areas of ecological survey, management and mitigation is fundamental to professional development and progressing your career.
CIEEM has been working with volunteer members to develop taxa-specific competency standards that tell the practitioner what they need to know and what they should be able to do in order to demonstrate increasing levels of competence. These competency standards are derived from the CIEEM Competency Framework and have also drawn on the Ecological Competences: Skills and Process document published by Atkins in 2019.