10 Oct 2023
Shifting shores: Ulster University Researchers map 193 years of Northern Ireland coastline changes A project examining the shifting shorelines of Northern Ireland over the last 193 years, has recently been completed by Ulster University, revealing for the first time, a detailed picture of coastal change. Using historical maps and aerial photographs, the team of researchers […]
10 Oct 2023
The Marine Conservation Society has released the latest update to its Good Fish Guide, which sees 53 rating changes, with 19 ratings moving down the sustainability scale. The Good Fish Guide includes 337 ratings for seafood caught in UK waters, split into three categories, where ‘green’ is the most sustainable best choice; ‘amber’, which indicates there are some […]
05 Oct 2023
Water company business plans have been submitted to Ofwat. The five-year plans cover the period 2025 to 2030 and collectively amount to £96 billion of proposed investment, an 88% increase on the previous five years. According to the sector body Water UK, the investment “will secure water supplies against the rising prevalence of drought, ensure […]
05 Oct 2023
The Westminster government has announced that the introduction of mandatory biodiversity net gain (BNG) in England has been delayed from November until January for larger sites developed through the town and country planning system, and April 2024 for small sites. BNG will not be mandatory for national infrastructure projects until 2025. The delay has not […]
05 Oct 2023
The State of Nature 2023 report shows that wildlife decline continues at an alarming rate in the UK. The report collates data from wildlife and reporting schemes to paint a comprehensive picture of biodiversity loss. The report finds a 19% average decline in UK species and one in six species at risk of extinction. The […]
05 Oct 2023
There have been numerous recent incidents of blue-green algae at the UK’s largest lake in County Armagh and elsewhere across Northern Ireland. Reported by the BBC and elsewhere, the situation at the lake, which provides 40% of Northern Ireland’s drinking water, has become a political issue. There have been 168 confirmed reports of toxic blue-green […]
05 Oct 2023
Last week saw the publication by Ofwat of the Water Company Performance Report 2022-23, which focused on the £114mn that companies will be forced to pay back customers for poor performance. The Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey has issued a strongly worded statement, calling the “extremely disappointing”. She says: “While I acknowledge there is good work […]
05 Oct 2023
Defra has published the summary of responses and government response to the recent consultation on UK mandatory water efficiency labelling. There were a total of 98 responses to the consultation. The majority of respondents supported the introduction of a standalone mandatory water efficiency labelling to deliver the policy, with 74% of the responses agreeing or […]
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