The Wildlife Trusts lose patience over new attack on nature
The Wildlife Trusts today voice
exasperation at George Osborne's Autumn budget statement which
includes plans to review the rules which protect some of the most
important wildlife sites in England.
"It seems that the Chancellor is not
content with the massive shake-up of the planning system that is
already under way, and which initially failed to recognise Local
Wildlife Sites1. Now sites and species of European
importance face an uncertain future in England. When will the
Government recognise that our natural resources are finite?"
asked The Wildlife Trusts' Chief Executive Stephanie Hilborne
OBE.
The Government's own National Ecosystem
Assessment2 and Natural Environment
White Paper3, both published in June this year, promised
us much more than this. They were to herald a step
change in nature's fortunes. And Special Areas of
Conservation (SACs4) and Special Protection Areas
(SPAs5) are a key part of the foundation upon which
nature's recovery across England will depend. Yet
taking England's much depleted wildlife into a more positive future
is clearly far from the Chancellor's agenda.
"To go down in history as the
Government that kick-started nature's recovery means maintaining
the long fought for protection for England's richest wildlife
sites6" Stephanie continues.
She added: "The Wildlife Trusts are
well known for taking a pragmatic and constructive stance in its
dealings with developers and local authorities on the ground and
with the national Government. Now we have to lost patience
with the Treasury. The wrong outcome from this review risks
driving a wedge between developers and conservationists at time
when we ought to be co-operating more than ever.
"At a time of recession we should look
to the long-term. The coalition Government during the Second
World War placed nature at the centre of post-war
reconstruction."
Special Areas of Conservation were
established under the EU Habitats Directive and Special Protection
Areas established under the EU Birds Directive. Such sites
are the very foundation of environmental protection on land and at
sea in England. They are key to our quality of life and
to the future of iconic places7 in a densely populated
country like our own.
Paul Wilkinson, Head of Living Landscape,
added:
"We are deeply concerned that
Government is considering reviewing the implementation of both the
EU Birds and Habitats Directives in England, in an attempt to ease
the way for major developments on land and on our coasts."
Joan Edwards, Head of Living Seas,
said:
"It would be appalling if this review
created yet another barrier to protecting wildlife at sea. We
were already 60 years behind conservation on land when the 2009
Marine Act was to have started a new era".
Stephen Trotter, Chief Executive of
Warwickshire Wildllife Trust said:
"I am shocked by the Chancellor's
announcement to review the protection of the UK's most important
wildlife sites. It appears that the Government is not content with
threatening our vital network of local wildlife sites through the
removal of sensible and balanced planning measures; now the future
of a relatively few but really important wild places is being put
at risk - these are areas for which we in the UK have an
international responsibility.
The country must not jeopardise these
critical environmental assets for short term profit. The UK is
storing up a major wildlife and environmental deficit just as
serious as the economic debt. We can't have a sustainable economic
future without a sustainable and wildlife rich environment. We all
want and need a healthy and vibrant economy but we have to live
within environmental limits just as much as we have to live within
our financial spending limits."
Thirteen off-shore SACs were announced by
the European Commission only last week giving hope to The Wildlife
Trusts' long-running campaign for marine protected
areas8.
The chairs and chief executives of the 47
Wildlife Trusts met last week and heard from the New Economics
Foundation about the urgent need for a fundamentally different
economic model that takes into account that our natural resources
are being rapidly depleted. Only such a dramatic shift will
secure a society that can thrive whilst addressing climate change
and reversing the loss of biodiversity.
Stephanie Hilborne concluded:
"Economic growth should not be achieved at the cost of our
natural life support systems."
Read the
Chancellor's Autumn statement here
Read the
summary of 40 priority projects here
Contact information:
Anna Guthrie (Media & PR Manager)
Office: 01636 670075
Mobile: 07887 754659
Email: aguthrie@wildlifetrusts.org
Tanya Perdikou (Media & Campaigns
Officer)
Office: 01636 670057
Mobile: 07887 754657
Email: tperdikou@wildlifetrusts.org
The Wildlife Trusts has an ISDN line
available for radio interviews. Please contact us to book an
interview.
Notes for editors:
1 Local
Wildlife Sites: There are more than 40,000 Local Wildlife
Sites (LWS) in England which cover an area of at least 711,201
hectares; equating to an area 4.5 times the area of Greater London
(assuming Greater London is 1,572km2). The number of
Local Wildlife Sites lost to, or damaged by, built development in
England in 2010 was at least 172. Of these, at least 25 were
lost completely. This figure could have been much higher
without the degree of protection under the current planning
system. All 37 individual Wildlife Trusts in England are
actively engaged in the planning system, reviewing more than 70,000
planning applications last year.
Collectively, Local Wildlife Sites play a
critical conservation role by providing wildlife refuges, acting as
stepping stones, corridors and buffer zones to link and protect
nationally, and internationally, designated sites. Together
with statutory protected areas, such as Sites of Special Scientific
Interest (SSSI), they support locally, and often nationally,
threatened species and habitats. With SSSIs they are the
starting point for Nature Improvement Areas (NIAs).
2 The UK
National Ecosystem Assessment states:
"The natural world, its biodiversity and its constituent
ecosystems are critically important to our well-being and economic
prosperity, but are consistently undervalued in conventional
economic analyses and decision-making."
3 The
Natural Environment White Paper (chapter three
paragraph 3.6) states "The Government is committed to putting
the value of natural capital at the heart of our economic
thinking."
4
Special Areas of Conservation (SACs)
SACs are areas which have been given
special protection under the European Union's Habitats Directive.
They provide increased protection to a variety of wild animals,
plants and habitats and are a vital part of global efforts to
conserve the world's biodiversity. Find out more about them
on http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/designatedareas/sac/default.aspx
5
Special Protection Areas (SPAs)
SPAs are areas which have been identified
as being of international importance for the breeding, feeding,
wintering or the migration of rare and vulnerable species of birds
found within European Union countries. They are European designated
sites, classified under the 'Birds Directive 1979' which provides
enhanced protection given by the Site of Special Scientific
Interest (SSSI) status all SPAs also hold. Find out more
about them on
http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/designatedareas/spa/default.aspx
6 The
campaign to protect nature's wildlife sites began in 1912
with Charles Rothschild.
7 Sites with European protection
include key forests like Epping (Essex), Ashdown (Sussex), the
Chiltern Beechwoods (Bucks, Oxon etc) and the New Forest
(Hants). Other much-loved areas include Cannock Chase
(Staffs), Rutland Water, the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads, North
Pennine Dales and Moors, and the Stiperstones (Shrops).
Coastal and marine sites include Flamborough Head (Yorks), Dawlish
Warren (Devon), Tintagel-Marsland-Clovelly coast (Cornwall), the
Farne Islands (Northumberland), Chesil Beach, Lyme Bay and Lizard
Point in the South West, and Morecombe Bay (Lancs). Famous
rivers benefiting from protection include the Tweed (Northumberland
borders), and the Itchen (Hants).
8The Wildlife
Trusts' Living Seas campaign http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/petitionfish
The Wildlife Trusts (TWT)
wildlifetrusts.org
There are 47 individual Wildlife Trusts
covering the whole of the UK. All are working for an
environment rich in wildlife for everyone. We have more than
800,000 members including 150,000 members of our junior branch Wildlife Watch.
Our vision is to create A Living
Landscape and secure Living
Seas. We manage around 2,300 nature reserves and every
year we advise thousands of landowners and organisations on how to
manage their land for wildlife. We also run marine conservation
projects around the UK, collecting vital data on the state of our
seas and celebrating our amazing marine wildlife. Every year
we work with thousands of schools and our nature reserves and
visitor centres receive millions of visitors. Each Wildlife
Trust is working within its local communities to inspire people
about the future of their area: their own Living Landscapes and
Living Seas.