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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.
National Trust outlines ambition to help restore UK’s natural heritage
- National Trust National Trust today (19/3/17) outlined ambitious plans to help
reverse the decline in wildlife on all land in its ownership – including
an aim to create 25,000 hectares of new habitats by 2025. As one of the country’s largest landowners, the Trust wants to play
its part in addressing the dramatic slump in UK species and improve soil
quality and water quality in the countryside. An in-depth study last
year found 56 per cent of species were in decline. The
conservation charity, which was set up to protect places of natural
beauty, hopes to create and restore “Priority Habitats”, areas
identified by the government as threatened and in need of conservation
support, on 10 per cent of its land. Farming will remain vital to the Trust’s approach to countryside
management and the charity will work in partnership with tenant farmers
to see how they can help deliver nature-rich, productive, fertile
landscapes which are good for wildlife and good for farming. Supporting
sustainable farming will be crucial for the plans to succeed. Many of
the Trust’s 1,500 farm tenants are already farming in a way which
benefits wildlife. The charity said that it wanted to discuss, listen
and learn from them and other groups as it explores how nature-friendly
measures could be introduced or enhanced across all of its farmed land.
The aim is that at least 50 per cent of farmland will be
‘nature-friendly’ by 2025, with protected hedgerows, field margins,
ponds, woodland and other habitats allowing plants and animals to
thrive. The Government, tenant farmers and conservation charities
have all welcomed the Trust’s approach. Peter Nixon, Director of Land, Landscape and Nature at the National
Trust, said: “Our charity was founded to protect our natural as well as
cultural heritage and we believe we should be playing an active role in
reviving nature – by doing what we can on our own land. Nature has been
squeezed out to the margins for far too long. We want to help bring it
back to the heart of our countryside. Despite the battering it’s taken
over many decades, nature has an incredible ability to rejuvenate and
revive if given the conditions to thrive."
Natural England reduces red tape on badger class licences
- Natural England England has launched a streamlined approach to moving badgers on
development sites or stop them causing damage to
important infrastructure. Natural England’s new
class licence will mean badgers continue to have the same high level
of protection when it is necessary to move an active sett. This new licence will reduce paper work delays on building sites.
Currently applications take up to 30 working days to process; the new
licence is expected to take just five working days. This new approach is a change to the administration of the licence –
the powers for moving badgers remain the same. Where the licence is for
the purpose of development, work to exclude badgers will only begin once
an artificial sett has been constructed nearby and ‘discovered’. Only specialists, with the required high level of knowledge and
experience in excluding badgers, will be able to register to act under
this licence. The class licence is not for individual homeowners. Badgers and their setts are protected under the Protection of Badgers
Act 1992. This level of protection is unaffected by the class licence.
91% of today’s children are not getting enough exercise
- Sustrans
New figures show that less than one in ten (9%) of the UK’s parents
say their children get the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity a
day. A
YouGov poll, carried out on our behalf, surveyed 1,370 parents of 5 to
16 year-olds about their children’s daily levels of physical activity. Joanna Roswell Shand & children at a school (Sustrans) About one in five (19%) of those surveyed said their child took part
in 60 minutes of physical activity a day, two days a week. While 13%
said their children did so one day a week or less. Government guidelines According to government guidelines, children and young people aged 5
to 18 need at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day “to
maintain a basic level of health”. The survey also found:
Case for tripling roads budget based on wishful thinking, say
campaigners Landmark research shows scant evidence that road schemes produce
economic benefits, but that they increase traffic dramatically and
damage the countryside
New
research published by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) today
(Monday 20 March) reveals that road-building is failing to provide the
congestion relief and economic boost promised, while devastating the
environment.
The research, the largest ever independent review of completed road
schemes in England, arrives as Highways England starts consulting on
which road schemes will receive funding, set to triple to £3 billion a
year by 2020. Drawing on the research, CPRE’s report The end of the road? directly
challenges government claims that ‘the economic gains from road
investment are beyond doubt’; that road-building will lead to ‘mile a
minute’ journeys; and that the impact on the environment will be limited
‘as far as possible’. The report shows how road building over the past
two decades has repeatedly failed to live up to similar aims.
We fear loss of public paths in North Yorkshire
- Open Spaces Society North Yorkshire County Council has consulted on its plan to
categorise the county’s public paths so that some will receive little or
no attention. It proposes to put paths into categories to determine the level of
their maintenance, with a complicated system of assigning the priority
to be given to each route. We are deeply concerned about this. It appears that those routes
which are afforded low priority will be neglected and consequently less
used, and they could in effect be lost even if they are not closed
legally. Public footpaths and bridleways are highways in law, just like any
road. The county council has a statutory duty to maintain all the
highways in its area. It cannot in law neglect them — it would not allow
an obstruction to remain on a public road, and it should treat public
paths in the same way. We believe that the proposed categorisation will lead to a distortion
of the path network, with urban paths being better maintained than rural
ones, and little attention given to paths between communities.
Ruthless fly-tipper jailed - Environment
Agency A fly-tipper who left a trail of waste across the Devon countryside was finally brought to justice today when he was sentenced to 20 months in prison.
Waste
dumped by Martin McDonagh in a compound off the B3192, near Ashcombe. Martin McDonagh, 23, failed to turn up at Plymouth Crown Court and
was made the subject of a European Arrest Warrant following the
sentencing hearing. Judge Ian Lawrie described him as a ‘persistent
offender who showed a ruthless determination to dump waste wherever it
suited.’ McDonagh, who is believed to have fled to the Republic of
Ireland, was also ordered to pay a total of £7,000 costs for illegally
depositing commercial and household waste at numerous sites in South and
West Devon. The court also issued a Criminal Behaviour Order that
prohibits McDonagh from being involved in any business enterprise
involving the collection, carrying or transport of waste. The van used during his crime spree was seized and destroyed by the
Environment Agency. It is the first time, in the South West, that the
agency has ordered the destruction of a vehicle used to commit waste
crimes. The defendant was caught following a joint investigation
led by the Environment Agency, with support from Teignbridge District
Council, Plymouth City Council, West Devon District Council, South Hams
District Council and Devon and Cornwall Police. Adrian Evans, senior environment crime officer for the Devon and
Cornwall area, said: " This case serves as a reminder for people to be
vigilant when transferring waste for disposal. Any person who collects
and disposes of commercial or household waste must be a registered waste
carrier, authorised by the Environment Agency. Everyone has a duty of
care to ensure their waste is disposed of safely and doesn’t harm the
environment. You should ask to see an operator’s waste carrier licence
and whether your waste is being taken to an authorised site. Do not let
your waste be removed if you are in any doubt. These simple steps can
stop rogue fly-tippers in their tracks. The illegal disposal of waste in
the countryside and local beauty spots causes annoyance and upset to
local people and visitors. The serial fly-tipper in this case was caught
as a result of agencies working closely together, sharing intelligence
and resources to protect our environment."
£7.3m in funding for new green infrastructure projects across Scotland
- Scottish Natural Heritage Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) is awarding £3 million to five
projects which will improve local greenspace in some of the most
deprived areas in Scotland. The SNH funding comes from the European
Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and once match funding from other
sources is added will result in a total investment of £7.3 million. Three of the five new projects are in west Central Scotland at
Clydebank, Castlemilk & Fernhill, and Cardonald. The other two projects
are in Aberdeen - at Middlefield and Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. This
latest award adds to £2.9 million of funding awarded last year to two
projects in Glasgow at Possilpark and Easterhouse. Ian Ross, SNH’s chairman, said: “We’re delighted to help fund these
projects and look forward to working with our partners to deliver them.
Green infrastructure makes such a big impact on a community: attracting
businesses to an area, improving physical and mental health, reducing
flood risk, and improving biodiversity. The Green Infrastructure Fund
provides a unique opportunity to create better places for people and
wildlife on an unprecedented scale across urban Scotland. It’s a
wonderful chance for us to work in areas where it is most needed.”
Forestry and woodland grant schemes not fit for purpose
- Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee On International Day of Forests, MPs from the Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs Committee have published a report "Forestry in England:
Seeing the wood for the trees", calling for the Government to take
action to increase woodland creation in England. The Committee says that the forestry Countryside Stewardship Scheme
(CSS), is "not fit for purpose". The Committee heard that the grant
application process was "torturous", "bureaucratic" and "overly
complex", with three organisations involved in administering CSS. Poor administration of the grant system is acting as a barrier to
greater woodland creation, with under 700 hectares of woodland created
in England in 2015–16. The Committee is calling today for the Government
to re-introduce a one-stop shop for forestry grants on day one of the
UK's exit from the European Union. The UK is the third largest importer of timber in the world, behind
only Japan and China. There needs to be greater use of UK timber. The
Committee says that the Government needs to incorporate a UK
timber-first approach into English housing procurement policy. Softwood availability is projected to decline after the period
2027–31. The Committee calls on the Government to introduce incentives
which encourage 50:50 mixed planting of softwoods and hardwoods. Ancient woodland is not adequately protected in the planning system.
The Committee is concerned about the rate at which irreplaceable ancient
woodland appears to be disappearing. So, the Committee is calling today
on the Government to implement the proposal in the Government's Housing
White Paper to clarify protections afforded to ancient woodland in the
National Planning Policy Framework.
Read the report conclusions and recommendations
Read the full report: Forestry in England: Seeing the wood for the trees Response:
Government is failing forestry says official report
- Woodland Trust A report published today (21/3) by the Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs Sub-Committee says the current Government is failing to ensure
realisation of the huge environmental, social and economic benefits of
forestry, which Defra says are worth at least £1.8billion to the UK
economy each year. In Forestry in England: seeing the wood for the trees, the
Sub-Committee heavily criticises the Government over low planting rates
(saying it is on course to fail to meet its target of 12% cover by
2060), overly bureaucratic systems, lack of proper recording for
woodland loss and inadequate protection for ancient woodland. The Sub-Committee was appointed in July 2016 by the Commons Efra
Committee to scrutinise the work of the Government in relation to
forestry in England since the publication of the Independent Panel on
Forestry’s report in 2012. The Woodland Trust was one of 70
organisations to submit evidence as part of the cross-party inquiry. The Woodland Trust has campaigned on many of the issues the report
raises for years and welcomes the recommendations within it. We’re
pleased to see the strength of the report in terms of recognition of
poor planting rates and the need to quickly simplify the process. The
report is also unequivocal on the need to amend planning guidance to
improve protection for ancient woodland. Woodland Trust Chief Executive, Beccy Speight, said: “This report
clearly highlights the barriers to progress that forestry in England
faces. It’s incredibly valuable, particularly with Brexit just around
the corner. Government policy is failing forestry catastrophically and
urgent action is needed. Planting rates are shockingly low – we believe
parts of the UK are at real risk of deforestation. Grant systems are
complex and restrictive, and protection for ancient woodland is weak.
Crucially, the report sets out what government must do now to bring
about dramatic change for our forests’ future, and it’s really not
rocket science. The quickest win of all would be to follow through on
the report’s recommendation to amend planning policy to secure better
protection for ancient woodland. Recent Housing White Paper proposals
also support this need, and with the National Planning Policy Framework
being reviewed later this year, it’s perfect timing. There’s no excuse
now for government to bury its head in the sand as it’s seemingly done
since responding to the Independent Panel Report in 2013.”
Nature is secret weapon in fight for better health
- Friends of the Earth More nature in our lives helps address poor health and inequality.
Nature is key to mental and physical wellbeing – fewer anti-depressants
and lower death rate. A lack of nature in our lives is associated with higher obesity
levels, mental health problems and higher death rates, according to
a study for Friends of the Earth. The study, by the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP)
for Friends of the Earth Europe, says lack of access to nature has a
strong link to poor health and inequality. It finds:
Robbie Blake, nature campaigner for Friends of the Earth Europe,
says: “The evidence is strong and growing that people and communities
can only thrive when they have access to nature. We all need nature in
our lives, it gives us freedom and helps us live healthily; yet deprived
communities are routinely cut off from nature and it’s suffocating their
wellbeing" Protecting and restoring nature sites, improving access to nature in
planning, and prescribing nature in preventative healthcare could help
tackle poor health in deprived communities.
Calls strengthen for UK balloon ban - ORCA Renewed calls for action have been raised today to stop the
devastating impact of balloons on the natural world.
The charity have said they have seen a 53% increase in beach litter
since 2015, and that confusion over the impact of balloons on the
environment is contributing significantly to the issue. Balloon Release (image: ORCA)
The issue of plastics in the marine environment is a critical
challenge facing conservation organisations worldwide, and ORCA are
fully committed to decreasing plastics and other marine litter that is
having a devastating impact on cetaceans. Are amphibian road tunnels putting protected species at risk from pollution? - Froglife Researchers from Froglife and the University of Hull are
investigating how endangered and protected amphibians use man-made
tunnels to cross roads and also, if such tunnels suffer from chemical
pollution from the road traffic above them. A new study,
published
today in the Water and Environment journal indicates that such road
tunnels, while extensively used by amphibians, including the protected
great crested newt (Triturus cristatus), can indeed accumulate
multiple potentially harmful substances including metals, salt and
petroleum hydrocarbons. This is the first published research linking
road pollution to amphibian tunnels for the great crested newt. Amphibian road tunnel. (image: S Petrovan) Amphibians need water to breed and in a heavily urbanised country
such as the UK, the long distances they have to cross between their
terrestrial grounds and breeding ponds are often crossed by roads. Roads
are not just deadly obstacle courses for amphibians, killing millions
each year but also have more insidious effects such as creating barriers
for movement, effectively preventing animals from breeding and isolating
them in smaller and smaller fragments of habitats. This means that in
many parts of the world, amphibian populations have become increasingly
fragmented, rare and isolated. Installing amphibian tunnels under roads
can be a really positive and important step in order to reduce mortality
and encourage connectivity. However, roads are known to be important
sources of chemical pollution and amphibians are more susceptible than
most animals due to their permeable skin which means dangerous
substances can enter the body through direct contact. Read the paper: White, K. J., Mayes, W.
M. and Petrovan, S. O. (2017),
Identifying pathways of exposure to highway pollutants in great crested
newt (Triturus cristatus) road mitigation tunnels. Water
and Environment Journal. doi:10.1111/wej.12244
New forestry market research reveals best period for forestry expansion
since the 1980s' - Savills More than 18,300 hectares of forestry were sold across Britain last
year at a cumulative value of just under £83M in another strong
transactional year for the forestry sector. Although the average price per hectare across the whole market
dropped slightly from 2015 levels, this was due to significant
changes in the market share by region, with nearly 80% of all property
sold north of the Forth-Clyde canal. Demand for UK grown
timber improved over the year with the prospect of further rises as
ambitious new build and low carbon targets filter through, which will
give the domestic timber industry a boost. Meanwhile both UK and
Scottish Governments have ambitious tree planting targets, supported by
attractive grant packages providing clear opportunities for investors to
create new productive forests. These are among the findings of new research by Savills and Scottish
Woodlands. David Robertson, Investment & Business Development Manager at
Scottish Woodlands said: "Government policy is increasingly
focussed on the benefit of woodland. The Scottish Parliament has
increased its tree planting target from 22 million to 33 million trees
per year by 2025, this equates to a rise from 10,000 to 15,000 hectares
of forestry land, with grant funding bolstered from £36 to £40 million
in 2017/18. In addition a £19 million Carbon Woodland Fund has
been announced in England aimed at increasing planting of
woodlands to contribute to the Westminster target of 11 million trees in
the lifetime of the 2015-20 parliament. In summary, we are
potentially witnessing the best period for forestry expansion since the
1970s and 80s, supported by Government policy on both sides of the
border". Download the Spotlight on UK Forestry Market 2017 report (PDF)
North Yorkshire Police launches initiative to close legal loopholes
against dog attacks on livestock - National
Rural Crime Network With the lambing season underway, North Yorkshire Police is joining
up with four other rural Forces to take part in a new initiative that
could lead to a tightening up of the law against dog attacks on
livestock. Since September 2013 there have been 325 reported dog attacks on
livestock in North Yorkshire, and it’s a similar picture in some other
rural areas*. Injury to livestock can cost farmers and livestock owners
thousands of pounds, but police and countryside campaigners are
concerned that there may be gaps in the current laws that make it more
difficult to deal with the issue effectively. This week (21 March 2017) North Yorkshire Police has joined up with
four other Forces, Sheepwatch UK and the Animal Health and Welfare Board
for England to launch a special initiative aimed at gathering more
information about dog attacks on livestock, and the power of the police
to deal with them. The Forces will look at how livestock attacks are
reported, recorded and handled, to assess whether the law needs to be
changed or updated. Chief Constable Dave Jones of North Yorkshire Police, who is the national policing lead for rural and wildlife crime, explains: “Our experience of dealing with dog attacks suggests that there are some areas of the current legislation that could be improved. For example, the definition of livestock doesn’t cover all the types of animals that we know can be affected. In some cases, the police can’t legally seize a dog that has been involved in an attack, which makes it difficult to prevent the same thing happening again. And whilst livestock damage can be extremely costly for the animals’ owner, the maximum fine under law is relatively low and can be disproportionate to the loss. We believe that there may be scope for the law to be tightened up, but we need hard evidence to confirm it. Through the initiative we have launched this week, five rural Forces will start to gather more details about dog attacks on livestock so that, if the evidence supports it, we can present a clear case to support a change in the law.”
Get
involved and help researchers find out which plants bumblebees like
- University of Aberdeen Researchers from the University of Aberdeen will be on hand this week
to show people how a new interactive tool can help us to help bees. The University of Aberdeen and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust have
been running BeeWatch since 2010 to monitor bumblebees across the UK.
Through BeeWatch members of the British public have submitted more than
13,000 photographs of bumblebees and had them identified as one of 22
species in the UK, either by experts or collaboratively by the BeeWatch
community.
This
valuable information has allowed scientists to monitor the occurrence of
different bumblebee species across the UK in a manner that would not be
feasible without the public’s help. (image: University of Aberdeen) BeeWatch is now launching the interactive ’Planting for Pollinators’
tool which aims to increase awareness about the environmental needs of
the different bumblebee species and offers practical recommendations on
which flowers are attractive to these pollinators throughout the season.
Doing this gives people the opportunity to get involved and take simple
positive actions that can increase the diversity of bumblebee species in
their gardens to the benefit of those important pollinators and the
wider environment. Take part in the
BeeWatch survey and find information on more
surveys and
citizen science projects here.
Scientific publications Woodworth, B. K., Wheelwright, N. T., Newman, A. E., Schaub, M. &
Norris, D. R. (2017)
Winter temperatures
limit population growth rate of a migratory songbird. Nature
Communications doi:10.1038/ncomms14812 Ellison, D. et al (2017)
Trees, forests and water: Cool insights for a hot world. Global
Environmental Change. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2017.01.002 O’Brien, L. et al (2017)
Cultural ecosystem benefits of urban and peri-urban green infrastructure
across different European countries. Urban Forestry & Urban
Greening. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2017.03.002
Dijkstra, J. A., Harris, L. G., Mello, K., Litterer, A., Wells, C.
and Ware, C. (2017),
Invasive seaweeds transform habitat structure and increase biodiversity
of associated species. J Ecol. Accepted Author Manuscript.
doi:10.1111/1365-2745.12775 Collas, L., Green, R. E., Ross, A., Wastell, J. H. and Balmford, A.
(2017),
Urban development, land sharing and land sparing: the importance of
considering restoration. J Appl Ecol. Accepted Author Manuscript.
doi:10.1111/1365-2664.12908 Sutter, L., Jeanneret, P., Bartual, A. M., Bocci, G. and Albrecht, M.
(2017),
Enhancing plant diversity in agricultural landscapes promotes both rare
bees and dominant crop-pollinating bees through complementary increase
in key floral resources. J Appl Ecol. Accepted Author Manuscript.
doi:10.1111/1365-2664.12907
David J. Siveter, Derek E. G. Briggs, Derek J. Siveter, Mark D. Sutton, David Legg A new crustacean from the Herefordshire (Silurian) Lagerstätte, UK, and its significance in malacostracan evolution Proc. R. Soc. B DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.0279.
Pyke, G. H. and Szabo, J. K. (2017),
Conservation and the four Rs, which are rescue, rehabilitation, release,
and research. Conservation Biology. doi:10.1111/cobi.12937
Lizeth Lacharme-Lora, et al (2017)
B lymphocytes play a
limited role in clearance of Campylobacter jejuni from the
chicken intestinal tract. Scientific Reports, DOI: 10.1038/srep45090
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