#DefendNature

Across Europe, including here in the UK, crucial nature laws protect our most precious wildlife. Together these ‘Nature Directives’ protect a network of wild places stretching across Europe. For over 30 years they have protected some of our best loved and most iconic landscapes. Some 800 of the UK’s special habitats – like the ancient woodland and heathland in the New Forest, the migratory birds in the Solent and Southampton Water and the iconic chalkstream habitats of the River Itchen – benefit from the protections they offer.

At Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, we’ve found that these nature laws are essential in for example, stopping damaging developments like the proposals to build a new container port at Dibden Bay near Southampton, which threatened breeding habitat for coastal birds, and in protecting species from near-extinction like the otter.

It’s not just wildlife that depends on this legislation – we do too, for cleaner rivers and seas, for the vital habitats that support pollinating insects and for the natural places we can enjoy and spend time in. Without these laws our world would be a much poorer place.

Right now European Leaders are reviewing the Directives and asking people to give their opinion on them. There is concern among many charities that the review could be hijacked and protection for nature could be weakened under the guise of helping economic growth.

However a strong natural environment is the foundation for a functioning economy. It’s estimated that the network of wild areas these laws protect creates some €200-300bn worth of economic benefits per year to local economies. What’s more, undermining the protections for nature will just create more uncertainty over things like investment and development.

Moreover, the laws protect wildlife while encouraging ways of people and nature to live together in and around some of our most iconic landscapes. They’re good for wildlife, people and the economy.

Some two thirds of the UK’s species have declined over the last half century from loss of habitat already – and now climate change is threatening the survival of those that are left. So it’s vital that as many of us as possible say that we feel strongly about this and don’t want to see these laws weakened.

The Wildlife Trusts have joined 100 other charities and environmental organisations across the UK to help people respond to the consultation in support of the Nature Directives. This is to help send a clear and consistent message to the European Commission that people feel strongly about this, wherever they live. 

We can’t let them roll back years of progress – to let them know your views visit: www.wildlifetrusts.org/defendnature before 24th July. 

Please share this campaign with your friends and family. Use #defendnature, #naturealert and our campaign link: http://wtru.st/defendnature

> Read our ‘It’s Our Nature: You can help protect Europe’s laws for wildlife‘ report to find out more.

> Read our blog – Joan Edwards looks at what the Nature Directives do for people and wildlife here in the UK.

> Read the joint media release

> Read more background on the consultation from the European Commisson

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Rubbish benefits for wildlife and communities

The Government is looking at reforming the ‘Landfill Communities Fund’, a national grant pot for community and wildlife projects.

The funding comes from ‘green tax’ on rubbish sent to be buried in landfill sites. In principle the landfill tax is a good thing, as it encourages recycling and reduces our contribution to climate change and it’s potentially catastrophic impacts on wildlife.

But the added bonus is that the money is redistributed to local environmental projects, including in many Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Over the last 2 years alone, over £105,000 from the Landfill Communities Fund has supported a range of wildlife projects we at Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust are involved in.

This includes a 2 year restoration programme at Sandown Meadows Nature Reserve on the Isle of Wight. Owned and managed by HIWWT, this site, and others in the valley are being restored with a £50,000 grant from the Local Communities Fund via Biffa.

Riverside trees have been coppiced to encourage lush growth of bankside vegetation that will benefit a range of species including water voles, dragonflies and kingfishers. Over the past year volunteers have put in a tremendous amount of time and effort helping to restore an old floodplain pond that is now attracting a range of wildfowl like shoveler, snipe and mallard. Thanks to the funding, we were also able to remove the non-native invasive Parrot’s Feather plant from the ditches.

Given the Fund’s huge importance to community environmental projects such as the one at Sandown, it’s hardly surprising that many organisations like the Wildlife Trusts are very concerned about current government plans to ‘reform’ it.

There are growing fears that vital funding for these community projects will be reduced or removed under the guise of the Fund being ‘inefficient’. While the process could be better at getting more money to more community projects more efficiently, getting rid of it altogether shouldn’t be on the table.

Any reduction in this already over-subscribed fund will hit community environmental projects hard. Currently everything from footpaths in nature reserves through to new inner-city playgrounds are only being delivered because of this fund. And potential cuts to the Fund are even more concerning at a time when government spending on wildlife-rich green spaces is expected to fall across the board over the coming years.

We’re also concerned about government proposals to only fund short term projects. We know that what wildlife really needs right now is long term investment and protection. Planning for the future is the only way we’ll put nature on the path to recovery.

That’s why we at Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust are responding to the government consultation on the Landfill Communities Fund, calling on them to keep this lifeline for community environmental projects.

**If you would like to respond to the consultation, you can read more on the government website, and email your views to Landfill-tax.consultation@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk by 10 June 2015**

Finally, my blog will shortly be moving to a new home to on Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust’s website.

So for my latest views on working in nature conservation in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and wider conservation issues in the UK, subscribe to my new blog here.

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The outlook for wildlife post-election

Now that the new Government has taken office, wildlife charities like Hampshire & Isle Wight Wildlife Trust are assessing what the future holds for wildlife in the UK.

Environmental and wildlife issues have been noticeably absent from recent political debate. Most of our decision-makers’ focus is on the economy – despite the clear links between helping nature and helping ourselves; Natural England estimated that more wildlife in our towns and cities could save the NHS £2.1bn a year through improving our mental and physical wellbeing.

In the run-up to the election, and with the help of thousands of our supporters, we asked every political party to commit to protecting nature. Together with over 20 other charities and our supporters, we called for a new ‘Nature & Wellbeing Act’ to protect and restore nature for wildlife and for people. Along with the other political parties, the Conservatives adopted some of our recommendations in their manifesto, including:

• Work with the Natural Capital Committee (England’s independent body advising the Government on sustainable use of England’s forests, rivers, atmosphere, land, wildlife and oceans) to put an economic value on the environment – and introduce a 25 year plan for restoring nature and biodiversity;
• Improve people’s access to the outdoors by providing free, comprehensive maps of all open-access green space – and launching an ambitious programme of pocket parks (small areas of inviting public space where people can enjoy relief from the hustle and bustle of city streets);
• Complete the network of Marine Protected Areas around the UK.

We will be among those organisations and supporters looking forward to seeing these pledges implemented, although we hope this isn’t all this government will do for our wildlife.  The government’s wider plans will become clearer over the coming weeks.

This week’s Queen’s Speech gave us some clues of what to expect. We welcome the commitment to take climate change seriously at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris at the end of the year. Climate change continues to pose a major threat to both wildlife and people, as well as the economy.  It is essential that firm action is taken to prevent biodiversity loss – and we’d like to see further investment in nature to mitigate the impacts and costs of climate change.

The government has committed to an in/out EU referendum, the negotiations for which could throw further doubt over the vital nature protection laws that the European Commission is already reviewing. We’d also want reassurances that the government pledge to reduce regulation for businesses won’t weaken key protections for and responsibilities to wildlife.

Broadly we hope to see nature truly placed at the heart of decision-making, giving it the prominence it deserves; however there is also a risk that we may see some damaging wildlife and flooding policies, like those that earned the last government a ‘red card’ for poor environmental performance from the Environmental Audit Committee.

Today’s news coverage that David Cameron still hasn’t appointed a minister for the natural environment doesn’t signal any great priority for this critical area which is highly disappointing.

The Wildlife Trusts are among the many wildlife charities awaiting the government’s legislative plans with anticipation. We are ready to make the case for protecting nature – for wildlife, and for people.

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Thanks Hugh!

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of meeting Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall at the River Cottage Autumn Fair.

Hugh is a real advocate for sustainability (just look at some of the great things he’s doing at River Cottage HQ) and of course is famous as being the mastermind behind Hugh’s Fish Fight.  So I wanted the chance to chat to him about the Wildlife Trusts’ marine work and in particular our concerns about Marine Conservation Zones.

Hugh agreed to support our campaign for 127 MCZs as you can see from the photo!  Thanks Hugh – we really appreciate it.

To find out more about our MCZs campaign follow the link here.  You can help too by signing up to be a Friend of your local MCZ here.

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Water is essential for the economy.. but what about wildlife?

Snipe in the Avon Valley

Yet another publication from the Government today – the Water White Paper.  Could this be a plan for the recovery of our wetlands, rivers and the wider natural environment?

The Minister’s opening remarks in the Commons today started with how important water is for economic growth.  No surprise that this was the top of the list given this Government’s focus on the economy and little else at the moment.  

There are some welcome announcements in Water for Life however, including a commitment to a ‘catchment approach’ where landowners and key organisations work together on a large scale to protect and restore rivers and wetlands.  Whilst this seems a positive step forward, funds and support are urgently needed to make sure practical actions are taken rather than the approach resulting simply in more meetings and ‘stakeholder consultations’.

If implemented properly, a catchment approach can bring significant benefits for wildlife, ecosystem services and people.  Both Devon and Cornwall Wildlife Trusts are partners in South West Water’s Upstream Thinking project, which is addressing water quality issues by working with landowners to change management practices. Benefits so far include reduced fertiliser costs for farmers, and record web counts of marsh fritillary butterflies.

Taking a joined up approach is key: rivers don’t exist in isolation. Mountain, moorland, and upland heath provide 70% of the UK’s drinking water with 17 billion litres of water a day taken from ecosystems by public water demand. The benefits to investing in healthy, functioning ecosystems are clear. But we are still a long way from a totally integrated approach to protecting them. In fact, around 30% of the services they deliver are currently declining.*

An overarching framework for restoration of the natural environment is needed: one which recognises the interdependencies of land and water management. The principles the Government has set out are sound but will they succeed without a bigger and well resourced plan for nature’s recovery?

Helen Perkins at the Wildlife Trusts national office has concerns about the timescales mentioned in the White Paper, such as implementation of a new abstraction regime not due until the mid to late 2020s.

Helen says: “Water shortages present immediate threats to wildlife. Low water levels from both abstraction and drought conditions can trigger serious declines in species such as water vole, and compromise the breeding success of fish species such as brown trout. The long timescales and the piecemeal way in which changes will be introduced is a concern. With the drought situation currently unfolding, action is needed now.”

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Forestry Panel report … like a curate’s egg – good in parts

The Independent Forestry Panel published its interim report today.  Whilst I can’t see this commanding anything like the level of media coverage that the proposed forests sell-off did, it is nevertheless an important milestone.

In our national press release, Paul Wilkinson, Head of Living Landscape for the Wildlife Trusts emphasises the importance of the value of our woods, saying:  If the Budget recognised the full range and scale of benefits our natural environment provided there would be no question of the Treasury pressing for forest sales, or reducing the investment it made in the Public Forest Estate.  We have to bust the myth that it is a burden on the state once and for all.

The report does gives some comfort that the Panel have recognised the intrinsic value of trees and woodlands.  It acknowledges that the “value of the wide ranging public benefits provided by the Public Forest Estate – including access and nature conservation – far exceeds that of the timber alone”.  

Managing the public forest estate is relatively cheap:  the net annual cost to the Treasury is under £20m.  However, the business model is based on timber production and not on the wider benefits provided by woodlands and forests.  The National Ecosystem Assessment  estimates the total value of social and environmental benefits of woodland in the UK alone as £1.2 billion per annum. 

New Forest woodland

Frustratingly, the report seems to have conflated and confused the positive elements of trees and woods with the harmful elements of some aspects of plantation forestry culture.  Generic references throughout the document to the value of trees and woods to biodiversity do not differentiate between the richness of ancient woodlands and the relative dearth of wildlife in densely packed plantations.

Our response to the Call for Views pointed out the need to prioritise the restoration of open habitats such as heathlands and grasslands in places where plantations had damaged biodiversity – such as in the New Forest. There is limited acknowledgement of this point by the Panel:  “In our final report we will explore how much habitat restoration and improvement should be taking place on the public forest estate, and where, within the context of the wider landscape, it should happen.  This needs to include the costs involved as well as the benefits.”  I hope this is more than a sop.  

I am also disappointed that the Panel has yet to visit the New Forest which is the largest tract of semi-natural habitat in southern Britain, rich in heaths, bogs, meadows, streams and wetlands – as well as ancient woods and forestry plantations.  The report makes no mention of the New Forest apart from showing it on the map of England’s “woodland”.   As the New Forest National Park Authority stated several months ago: ”It is vital that any changes resulting from the Government’s proposals for forests in Englandcontinue to safeguard the special qualities of this much-loved landscape including the ancient commoning system that sustains it.”  Understanding the complexity and importance of the New Forest is a vital task for the Panel.  I hope they honour their promise to visit next year.

We have long promoted the importance of having a state owned and funded public forest estate.  The report appears to acknowledge this by stating that it wants “the ownership of the Public Forest Estate in England to be secured for the future”.  We now need to make sure the Treasury accepts that the PFE represents good value for money whilst at the same time ensuring its business model is fit for purpose and not skewed to any one use.

The Wildlife Trusts have been pressing the Panel to articulate the numerous and substantial benefits drawn from our woodlands.  Enhancing wildlife is not a luxury for our nation – it is an essential.  Woodlands are just one part of the natural environment and a vital part of the ecological network we need for the future.   Taking the right approach to England’s public forest estate could help us to redress the vast declines in wildlife during the twentieth century.

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Dear Prime Minister…

Dear Mr Cameron,

The environmental movement has spoken out repeatedly against policies that put short term profit ahead of our countryside and wildlife, eroding our natural capital and quality of life.

But rarely have we been as incredulous as we were on Tuesday, upon hearing the Autumn Budget Statement.  The stunning disregard shown for the value of the natural environment not only flies in the face of popular opinion but goes against everything the Government said in June when it launched two major pieces of environmental policy – the Natural Environment White Paper and the England Biodiversity Strategy.

It is increasingly clear that society needs a new economic model that accounts properly for our natural capital.  Yet with this Statement, its “red tape challenge”, sudden cuts to solar subsidies, and its ill-conceived planning reforms, the Government is continuing an out-of-date approach that casts regulation and the environment as enemies to growth.

Is the environment really an obstacle to economic productivity or is it in fact the very basis of it, as well as of our national well-being?  Not a hard question to answer and there is an increasingly powerful body of evidence that demonstrates this, including the Government’s own National Ecosystem Assessment.

How can the Government tolerate this gaping intellectual and political inconsistency, and walk with open eyes down a policy path that condemns future generations to a lower quality of life and to a massive and costly struggle to rebuild the country’s natural riches?

We appeal to you Mr Cameron to show leadership and champion long-term, sustainable economic policies that will bring much-needed prosperity without destroying all that millions hold dear.

Yours,

Stephanie Hilborne, Wildlife Trusts, chief executive
Mike Clarke, RSPB, chief executive
Shaun Spiers, CPRE, chief executive
John Sauven, Greenpeace, executive director
Andy Atkins, Friends of the Earth, executive director

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This letter appears in today’s Observer

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/dec/03/observer-letters-government-green-future

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/dec/03/new-green-alliance-savages-osborne

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Yet again the Government fail on their pledge to be the greenest …

Today’s Autumn statement by the Chancellor George Osborne amounts to a direct attack on nature and quality of life. 

Amongst the doom and gloom about the poor state of our economy were some astonishingly feeble assertions that environmental protection is placing unreasonable burdens on business and hence stifling economic growth.  

Declaring:  “we will make sure that gold plating of EU rules on things like Habitats aren’t placing ridiculous costs on British businesses,”  the Chancellor is clearly so desperate to kick start the economy he is willing to relax protection of some our most iconic landscapes.  In Hampshire this includes the New Forest, the Solent Coast, the north east Hampshire heathlands and the River Itchen.  On the Isle of Wight this includes much of the spectacular and unique coastline.

Spring in the New Forest

Today’s announcement of a Review of the implementation of the Habitats and Birds Directives is designed to “tackle blockages for developments where compliance is particularly complex or has large impacts”.  This is not only unbelievably short-sighted, it betrays the huge economic value of these natural areas. 

This is just the latest apparent u-turn on their pledge to be the ‘greenest Government ever’.  The Coalition made a promising start with the Natural Environment White Paper and the National Ecosystems Assessment – both recognising the fundamental importance of nature as crucial in underpinning the economy.  Sadly, it has all gone downhill from there.

A few weeks ago it was weakening of planning rules in the National Planning Policy Framework – then the backtracking on their pledge to designated Marine Conservation Zones.  The Government’s narrow-minded focus on the economy is risking the very things that underpin quality of life.

Does this Government want to go down in history as the Government that kick-started nature’s recovery or as the Government that tore down the long fought for protection for England’s richest wildlife sites?

The New Economics Foundation make a strong case for the need for a fundamentally different economic model that takes into account the depletion of natural resources.  Economic growth should not be achieved at the cost of our natural life support systems.  Risking our most iconic and beautiful natural areas surely cannot be part of a sustainable plan for Britain’s future.

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Also see:

http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/news/2011/11/29/wildlife-trusts-lose-patience-over-new-attack-nature

http://www.thisishampshire.net/news/9397508.Wildlife_sites____under_threat___/

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Marine Conservation Zones at risk

The marine habitats and wildlife off our shores are facing a serious threat, with the long-awaited network of marine protected areas, promised by Government for 2012, being in danger of failing before it has even got off the ground.

After years of pressure from NGOs, and with huge public support, the Marine and Coastal Access Act of 2009 promised a coherent network of protected areas – desparately needed to help our seas recover from years of neglect – around the coasts by 2012.  Now 127 marine sites around England’s coast, including 30 in South East England and 7 around Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, have been recommended by sea users and stakeholders to become Marine Conservation Zones next year.

The recommendations are the result of two years of consultation, costing millions of pounds, with more than one million stakeholders involved including fishermen, conservationists and businesses. This has been the first ‘Big Society’ experiment where local stakeholders have decided together which areas of the sea should be protected, but will the Government listen to its own Big Society or retreat from its localism agenda and centralise decision making? 

There is serious concern that Government’s Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies (Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee) will recommend to Government that only a fraction of the 127 recommended sites are designated. This could result in just a handful of scattered sites that would not fulfill the Government’s own guidance, which the stakeholders have worked so hard to adhere to, and leave vulnerable and precious areas unprotected.

Jolyon Chesworth, Marine Conservation Manager at Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, says:  

“A huge amount of work has been done to get a broad agreement on this network of sites needed for the health and future productivity of our marine environment.  Now, however, in the final stages the Government has lost its direction and is proposing to over-ride the recommendations of local stakeholders and cut the 127 sites down to an unrealistic 30, in contradiction with the aims of the Marine and Coastal Access Act and the thousands of pages of its own guidance.”

Referring to what this may mean for our local seas, Jolyon continues, “Sea Users have worked tirelessly in the South East and around the Solent to understand the complex process and guidance required by the Government to come up with recommended Marine Conservation Zones that meet the criteria. The work has resulted in a very positive set of 30 recommended sites which have a lot of broad support. Seven of these sites are around Hants and Wight, including Bembridge, which has more examples of species and habitats than any other site in the South East, including rare seaweeds, spoonworms and seahorses, Utopia, home to sponge and coral gardens and northern areas of the Isle of Wight coast, home to the best examples of seagrass in the region. 

To suggest that only 7 of the 30 sites in the South East may actually go ahead makes a mockery of the hard work of the local sea users, contradicts the official guidance and most importantly will not adequately protect the habitats and species that exist here.

With Wildlife Trusts all around the UK, we are lobbying hard for the successful completion of a process that will make a real difference to the conservation of our seas. We need to demonstrate the weight of public support for Marine Conservation Zones to Government. This is a once in a lifetime chance.  We can’t afford to let it slip away.” 

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is urging people to write to Richard Benyon and ask for Government to create the proposed network of 127 MCZs in England. It has produced some guidance on writing to the Minister, which can be found at www.wildlifetrusts.org/saveourmczs

Please sign our petition http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/petitionfish

Write to your MP and the Minister http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/saveourmczs

New planning proposals will take nature conservation back 20 years

Like most ecologists and nature conservation professionals, I am shocked by the short-sighted nature of the proposed planning reforms being put forward in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

There are many problems with the NPPF (such as the gross distortion in favour of economic growth, which is not actually the role of the planning system) but I want to focus on the one which few people are talking about.  The NPPF makes no mention whatsoever of protecting Local Wildlife Sites. 

There are 40,000 Local Wildlife Sites in England.  These have been surveyed, analysed, selected and monitored over the last twenty years or so, much of the work being done by volunteers, charities and local communities. 

 

Local Authorities across England have formally recognised local wildlife sites in planning policies, protecting them from development.  Many of them have provided grants for their positive management.  Until this year there was a National Indicator on the condition of local wildlife sites as a proxy measure for state of biodiversity in the wider countryside.

 

There is a sophisticated system, (recognised and promoted by Defra and Natural England), for managing local wildlife sites systems.  These are run locally, often by Wildlife Trusts, and are a well-established part of the fabric of nature conservation efforts.

 

In Hampshire and on the Island we have a wonderful network of more than 4,500 local wildlife sites, covering flower-rich meadows, chalk streams, ancient woodlands and heaths.   Many of these habitats have no other form of protection.

 

More than half of the UK’s priority habitats lie outside of statutory sites such as SSSIs.  This gives local wildlife sites a critically important role to play in achieving our biodiversity commitments under Nagoya and Biodiversity 2020.  They also form stepping stones and links for creating ecological networks, helping to restore and deliver vital ecosystem services for people – a key aim of the Natural Environment White Paper.

How, then can the NPPF completely ignore local wildlife sites – which have no  protection other than through the planning system.  Without their explicit recognition in the NPPF they will surely be fair game for developers.

If you are not convinced, just click the links below to find out more about the local wildlife sites in Hampshire, my local patch.  Their future is now very uncertain. 

Join the debate and have your say #NPPF @Debbie_Tann @HantsIWWildlife 

River Loddon local wildlife site, a chalk stream rich in biodiversity

 

 

Local wildlife sites help to buffer and connect natural areas, providing ecological networks and increasing resilience of biodiversity to pressures of land use and climate change.

 

 

Over 50% of the UK’s priority habitat identified under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan lies outside national nature conservation designations. This gives local wildlife sites a vital role in helping to meet UK biodiversity targets by protecting a large part of this very important resource.

 

Woodland local wildlife site near Swanwick

 

Local wildlife sites contribute to the quality of life and health and wellbeing of the community. They provide attractive countryside and important open space in urban areas. Sites also provide excellent opportunities for recreation and education.

 

 

 

http://www3.hants.gov.uk/sinc_web__2_.pdf

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/hands-off-our-land/8786741/Planning-rules-increase-threat-to-thousands-of-square-miles-of-wildlife-habitat.html

http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/protected/nationally/local-sites/

http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/designatedareas/localsites/default.aspx