News Desk

 

 Don't Cut the Countryside

14 July 2010

England’s conservation organisations have joined forces to paint a grim picture of a countryside starved of money by budget cuts.

On the 30th anniversary of the Wildlife and Countryside Link, its members have issued an unprecedented warning about what the future would hold should the Government slash spending on conservation, wildlife-friendly farming and public recreation.
The organisation will share its concerns with MPs at a parliamentary reception this evening (Wednesday), held to mark 30 years of working together for the natural environment.

Paul de Zylva, Chair of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “We all know the new Government will have a hard job making difficult and far-reaching decisions about where the axe should fall on public spending.

“There may be a temptation to see cuts in conservation and recreation as an easy win, but in reality ministers need to think very hard before making cuts that could have profound and perhaps irreversible consequences for England’s wildlife, landscapes and people.

“We want to make clear that in the case of conservation, slashing budgets would be a false economy – short term savings would translate into huge long term costs for our economy and our national well-being.”

Link fears an austerity countryside, where the loss of public money for protected sites such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) has left the country’s best wildlife sites sadly degraded. 

Reedbeds are dry and clogged with brambles; heathlands have vanished as scrub begins to take over. Wetlands have dwindled and rivers and canals have become clogged by invasive plants which threaten native species.

The loss of money for wildlife-friendly farming has seen farmland birds resume their slide into extinction. Bat populations are clinging onto survival in isolated pockets, facing starvation due to the dwindling insect populations, while the country’s flower meadows have all but vanished.

England’s uplands have become degraded; their wildlife is in decline, and their ability to lock away carbon and provide clean drinking water for millions sadly reduced.
On the coasts, cuts have undone years of work to manage remaining and newly created coastal habitats such as saltmarsh and saline lagoons, impacting wildlife and flood protection.

At sea, less management and enforcement has seen a further decline in wildlife-rich reefs and seagrass beds that shelter species like seahorses and pipefish. Illegal fishing has increased, putting even more pressure on fish numbers.

There are fewer people too. Without cash to keep paths and bridleways open, huge swathes of the English countryside and coast are effectively closed to millions.
Locked up in towns and cities, unable to enjoy the country’s breathing spaces, people are less healthy, costing the National Health Service millions of extra pounds each year. 

In turn, the rural economy is denied the large sums of money visitors to the countryside spend each year.
Paul de Zylva said: “Such a picture is not an exaggeration, but nor is it an inevitability. Minsters will need to make difficult choices about which areas of public spending offer the best value for money.

“Defra and its agencies like Natural England spend just 0.5 per cent of the Government’s budget, yet their investment in the countryside brings huge benefits in wildlife, clean air and water, flood alleviation, carbon sequestration and pollination. A healthy natural environment is not a luxury but fundamental to our existence.”

He added: “The Deputy Prime Minister has said it would be morally wrong to leave our children and grandchildren with huge debts. It would be just as immoral to bequeath them an impoverished environment and an England that is in many ways diminished.”

Notes:

In a statement sent to Defra ahead of the cuts, Link has listed five “red lines” – areas of spend that must be protected to safeguard the natural environment.
These are:

• Identifying, protecting, managing and monitoring protected areas and species on land and at sea, including action to halt and reverse the decline of threatened species and habitats (including National Parks, AONBs, SPAs, SACs, SSSIs, MCZs, European protected species and UK BAP listed species and habitats).
• Higher level agri-environment schemes and other land management grants which help land managers to delivering public goods such as an attractive, accessible countryside rich in wildlife.
• Gathering evidence about the state of the countryside and our marine environment.    Research and monitoring ensures money is properly spent and not wasted on ineffective approaches.
• Rights of way and access to the countryside including establishment of a coastal trail.
• Nature conservation in UK Overseas Territories and in developing countries, not least tropical forests.

This press release is supported by the following 25 organisations;

• Amphibian and Reptile Conservation
• Badger Trust
• Bat Conservation Trust
• Buglife – The Invertebrate Conservation Trust
• Butterfly Conservation
• Campaign for National Parks
• Campaign to Protect Rural England
• Campaign Whale
• Environmental Investigation Agency
• Friends of the Earth England
• The Grasslands Trust
• Hawk and Owl Trust
• International Fund for Animal Welfare
• The Mammal Society
• Marine Conservation Society
• Open Spaces Society
• Plantlife International
• Pond Conservation
• Ramblers
• Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
• Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
• Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society
• Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust
• The Wildlife Trusts
• Woodland Trust

_______________________________________

                                                            

 

Hundreds of Ponds Funded by Biffaward

8 July 2010

The go-ahead has just been given for a series of pond creation projects, to be funded by Biffaward, as part of the Million Ponds Project.  £202,654 from Biffaward will see 366 ponds created on 63 sites. All these projects will benefit BAP species associated with ponds and the common toad, natterjack toad, great crested newt and grass snake in particular.

Of the ponds planned for the coming year:

• 158 ponds will benefit the common toad
• 22 ponds will benefit the natterjack toad
  
• 179 ponds will benefit the great crested newt
  
• 111 ponds will benefit the grass snake

Of course, many other species will also benefit from the new ponds.

 The Million Ponds Project is a 50 year initiative, coordinated by Pond Conservation, to reverse the long-term decline in the UKs ponds, increasing pond numbers to 1 million and, crucially, recreating clean water in the landscape. At present, some 80% of ponds in England and Wales are in poor condition, mainly as a result of water pollution. Amphibian and Reptile Conservation is a lead partner in the project and is supporting projects that will benefit amphibians and the grass snake.

Amphibian and Reptile Conservation's Ponds Project Officer, David Orchard said, “The Million Ponds Project is achieving some real benefits for our most threatened amphibian species. Lots of ponds are being created by the project and each new one is a positive step forward for the conservation of amphibians and the grass snake in the UK.”

The Million Ponds Project is also helping to change attitudes to ponds by highlighting the importance of water quality. Dr. Pascale Nicolet, Million Ponds Project Manager said, “Ponds with good water quality are best for wildlife, but many ponds in the UK are polluted by runoff from roads or agricultural land. The best ponds are fed by water from “clean water catchments” – i.e. those not contaminated by runoff from intensive farming or roads.”

This is one of the key messages of the Million Ponds Project which is encouraging site managers to think again about the locations for potential ponds.

“We’re encouraging people to think carefully about where the water comes from that fills their pond” said David Orchard. Often, with some careful decisions on location, water quality can be significantly improved.

The next round of Biffaward funding will be open to new applications in October 2010, with the deadline for submissions being January 2011. Although the Million Ponds Project is a 50-year initiative, 2011 will be the final year for Biffaward funding.

This funding is available to landowners or
land managers able to create new ponds that will benefit any of the BAP species associated with ponds, with a particular focus on the most endangered species which are in danger of disappearing from England and Wales completely. Sites do not need to have public access to be eligible for funding and grants cover 100% of contractor costs.

To find out more about funding for pond projects contact David Orchard, Ponds Project Officer with Amphibian and Reptile
Conservation at David.Orchard@arc-trust.org.  
For more info on the Million Ponds Project go to www.pondconservation.org.uk/millionponds.