Bob Earll ‘The release of the Government’s new Clean Air Strategy is to be welcomed by it’s past inertia has been a disgrace, losing key court decisions to challenges by Client Earth. The benefits to human health are well rehearsed but the strategy is also targeting the Cinderella of emissions Ammonia from farms. This has […]
Government proposals to place the environment at the heart of new development have been unveiled by Environment Secretary Michael Gove. In plans published today (2 December 2018) for consultation, developers could be required to deliver a ‘biodiversity net gain’ when building new housing or commercial development – meaning habitats for wildlife must be enhanced and left in […]
A WARNING SIGN FROM OUR PLANET: NATURE NEEDS LIFE SUPPORT Plummeting numbers of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds and fish around the world are an urgent sign that nature needs life support. Our Living Planet Report 2018 shows population sizes of wildlife decreased by 60% globally between 1970 and 2014. For the last 20 years, scientists from ZSL, WWF and other […]
CaBA ‘Recently, science has been catching up with nature as two new publications have highlighted the importance for policy makers of ponds and small streams. New paper ‘New policy directions for global pond conservation’, highlights the importance of ponds for freshwater biodiversity, noting that ‘Ponds are among the most biodiverse and ecologically important freshwater habitats’. […]
Darwin Plus open for latest funding round for UK Overseas Territories Defra: ‘There has been media coverage of the Darwin Plus funding scheme for UK Overseas Territories (OTs) re-opening for the latest round of applications and two government direct grants to St Helena and Montserrat. Darwin Plus provides around £3 million of funding annually to environmental projects […]
Thanks to Fiona Bowles: There is the new Natural England report on generating more integrated biodiversity objectives which includes open freshwater habitats. It has some interesting facts about freshwater habitats, including 70% of river length is headwater stream and that 895 invertebrate species may be associated with running water, and identifies desirable management to restore naturalness […]
Clean Water for Wildlife – The Search for Clean Water A three year national survey comes to an end. Nearly 10,000 results were recorded by volunteers from over 7000 waterbodies across England and Wales. In the first national survey of its kind, citizen scientists were recruited to gather data about nutrient pollution from all kinds […]
CIEEM’s Biodiversity Net Gain Principles a welcome step Steve Hull 30/08/2017 Notwithstanding strong regulation of development in the marine environment and some notable successes in managing the impacts of marine activities, the UK still remains some way from achieving its vision for clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas. The 2011 Natural […]