The area is home to about 200,000 birds

The conference on the Isle of Sheppey will look at ways of protecting wildlife while the Thames Gateway area is developed.

The wetland safari on the Elmley Marshes is seen as a commitment to protecting the wildlife in the area - home to about 200,000 birds.

Rural affairs minister Alun Michael is expected to be at the conference.

Wildlife habitat

The Thames Gateway is one of the areas designated for a huge influx of housing under Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's plans to build thousands of affordable homes in the South East.

Concerns have been voiced that the building will have a severe impact on the Medway and Swale areas, with effects on wildlife being one of the potential problems.

Organiser of the conference at Sheppey College, the Medway and Swale Estuary Partnership, says its aim is to raise awareness of the Thames Estuary's international importance as a wildlife habitat.

The Environment Agency and the Kent Wildlife Trust will both be making presentations.

About 120 people are expected to attend, including representatives from organisations such as English Nature and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

In the afternoon they will be taken to the site of the proposed wetland safari.