02 Jul 2024

In a debate on nature conservation on Thursday (28 June), Labour MP and Shadow Environment Minister Toby Perkins announced that he “will stop destructive bottom trawling that is destroying our ocean ecosystem”. This would be “one of our first measures” he said, if his party comes to power after the parliamentary elections. The Liberal Democrats […]

02 Jul 2024

The US Department of Commerce and NOAA has announced $16.7 million in funding across 12 awards to support the development of innovative new technologies and public-private partnerships focused on sustainability, equity, biodiversity and climate adaptation. “To tackle climate change nationwide, we have to better understand and manage our coasts,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina […]

02 Jul 2024

By Keith Hiscock, Associate Fellow, Marine Biological Association Marine life in the seas around Britain is diverse: from the colourful anemones in rockpools to huge basking sharks. Our oceans are important socially and economically – they provide us with healthy food and other resources, they benefit our mental health and physical wellbeing, and offer endless […]

26 Jun 2024

A new report from EarthWatch Europe based on a citizen science blitz over the weekend of 7-10 June has found that: 75% of data points across the UK showed poor ecological health with significant regional variation. The Anglian and Thames regions have the worst water quality with up to 89% of data points showing poor ecological health. The Solway […]

26 Jun 2024

The Environmental Policy Forum, which represents over 110,000 qualified professionals across a wide range of different specialised disciplines including engineering, ecology, environmental sciences, water, forestry, fisheries, environmental management, health, and resource and land management, has identified three cross-cutting and seven thematic priorities for the next government are. Cross-cutting priorities Improve environmental governance to ensure effective […]

26 Jun 2024

An investigation by Unearthed has revealed that England’s beleaguered environmental regulator has been turning up late – or not at all – to three out of every four of the country’s worst pollution incidents. Between January 2017 and October 2023, the Environment Agency (EA) missed its own response time targets for more than 3,400 serious […]

26 Jun 2024

Lots more coverage of water quality and sewage overflows again this week. Just some of the coverage…. Labour and Lib Dems step up campaigns on sewage dumping (BBC) Revealed: the ‘catastrophic scale’ of sewage spills in England and Wales (Guardian) ‘Poo in the Water’: How Financial Engineering Sullied Britain’s Most Famous River (Wall Street Journal) […]

26 Jun 2024

Great piece in the Guardian crediting beavers, reintroduced to the Knapdale rainforest in western Scotland in 2009, with creating the perfect conditions for the reintroduction of one of the country’s most endangered mammals, the water vole.  The beavers’ dam-building is reshaping the forest and its waterways, creating just the right type of riverbank for water […]