Budget cuts may trigger ‘perfect storm’ of threats to UK wildlife
Iona am currently building up an economic profile of the South Pennines as an economic area. All of my previous dealings with it have been in the context of its landscape and environmental features. The interplay of economy and environment in rural areas is very important and an under developed area of work across England. This article below shows how the landscape and economic agendas are being thrown more heavily into the spotlight by the recession and its impact on EU and national institutions and policies. It tells us:
Britain’s countryside and wildlife face a looming “perfect storm” of threats to environmental protection, conservationists warned tonight.
The threats are headed by the possibility of massive cuts to EU funding for farmland wildlife schemes, which provides hundreds of millions of pounds annually to help British farmers look after the often-declining species on their land, from birds to butterflies to bumblebees.
The cuts may be outlined this week when EU leaders, including David Cameron, meet in Brussels to decide their budget for the next seven years – a budget which seems certain to be slashed.
But also greatly concerning environmental campaigners is the real possibility that the Government’s wildlife watchdog, Natural England, will be swept away and merged with the much bigger Environment Agency.
If this happens, it will be the first time since 1949 that there will no longer be a dedicated official body acting as a champion for habitats and species.
At the same time, local authorities are making swingeing cuts to their own environmental services and staff, an extensive new road-building programme is threatening valuable wildlife sites, and Conservative ministers are looking again at the possibility of undoing powerful EU wildlife laws which provide the strongest countryside protection of all in Britain.
Any of these threats would concern wildlife lovers, but the fact that they are all coming together has senior conservationists seriously alarmed.
“We may be witnessing the greatest shake-up in environmental protection for a generation,” said Martin Harper, director of conservation at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
Britain’s countryside and wildlife face a looming “perfect storm” of threats to environmental protection, conservationists warned tonight.
The threats are headed by the possibility of massive cuts to EU funding for farmland wildlife schemes, which provides hundreds of millions of pounds annually to help British farmers look after the often-declining species on their land, from birds to butterflies to bumblebees.
The cuts may be outlined this week when EU leaders, including David Cameron, meet in Brussels to decide their budget for the next seven years – a budget which seems certain to be slashed.
But also greatly concerning environmental campaigners is the real possibility that the Government’s wildlife watchdog, Natural England, will be swept away and merged with the much bigger Environment Agency.
If this happens, it will be the first time since 1949 that there will no longer be a dedicated official body acting as a champion for habitats and species.