About
What is the Marine Enhancement Directory?
The Marine Enhancement Directory (MEnD) is the central repository for estuarine, coastal, and offshore habitat creation and restoration projects in the UK.
Its purpose is to catalogue, map and provide oversight of all marine enhancement activities being undertaken in the UK from highest astronomical tide out to 200 nautical miles.
The development of this centralised resource was led by the Environment Agency’s Restoring Meadows, Marsh and Reef (ReMeMaRe) team, who identified that there was no central collection point for these activities.
This meant we did not know what projects were planned or happening, nor whether their objectives had been met. It also meant progress towards national and international environmental targets were difficult to track.
With MEnD we now have a resource that can:
- provide an overview of what enhancement activity is happening where;
- facilitate national and regional policy target reporting;
- be used to inform planning decisions;
- support project partnering;
- enhance collaborative working; and
- share lessons learned.
Why do we need to undertake marine enhancement projects?
Many marine habitats are facing pressure from various human activities, leading to biodiversity loss.
As an example, the UK has lost more than 15% of its intertidal habitat since 1945, including 8,000 ha of saltmarsh and even more mudflat (Office of National Statistics 2016), and Native oyster populations have declined by 95% in the UK since the mid 19th century (Native Oyster Network, 2025).
By undertaking marine habitat enhancement activities we can improve the health and resilience of the marine environment, address biodiversity loss, climate change impacts, and other pressures on the ocean.
Healthy marine ecosystems provide valuable ecosystem services, including coastal protection from erosion and storms, as well as supporting fisheries, tourism and recreational opportunities.
The UK government is commited to global efforts to protect and conserve the oceans and seas (including international biodiversity targets developed under the Convention on Biological Diversity), with actions across devolved administrations contributing to this global effort to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.
How was MEnD developed?
The development of the database was funded by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) as part of the marine Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) programme, with co-funding from The Crown Estate.
The functionality of MEnD was informed by a number of workshops and engagement sessions with the ReMeMaRe partnership, alongside input from devolved administrations as part of a MEnD Steering Group. Thank you to all of those who have helped to shape the Marine Enhancment Directory.
