AQUA (Aquatic Quality Award) is a biosecurity accreditation scheme that was trialled as a regional pilot in the South West region of England through the RAPID LIFE Project. It was run by Bristol Zoological Society (alongside South West Water and the Animal and Plant Health Agency) through RAPID LIFE and is designed to help reduce the spread of invasive non-native species.

It is a way to reward water asset managers for excellence in biosecurity and be recognised as actively conserving their site to maximise native aquatic diversity. There are the three levels of the award, bronze, silver and gold - so there is opportunity for participants to gain a bronze level of accreditation and work towards the silver and gold levels. We hope that this scheme could eventually be rolled out to the rest of GB.

View  a brief overview (PDF) of what is required for the AQUA scheme

For further information on the South West Lake's Trust involvement in the project, please see The South West Lake's Trust Website (external link)

More information coming soon!

For more information on AQUA, or if you would like to take part, please contact: alexia.fish@apha.gov.uk

RAPID LIFE was a European Union funded project led by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) in partnership with Natural England and Bristol Zoological Society and supported by a number of further technical partners.