The Office for Environmental Protection is investigating the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Secretary of State (SoS) and Natural England over possible failures to comply with environmental law in relation to Special Protection Areas (SPAs) for wild birds, it has announced.

The investigation will seek to determine whether Defra SoS and Natural England have failed to comply with environmental law relating to SPAs on land. This includes possible failures to implement recommendations given by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and other conservation public bodies on the classification and adaptation of SPAs and in respect of their general duties to protect and maintain wild bird populations.

As part of its wider work the OEP will also seek to understand the progress of SPA reviews in the marine environment.  

The Severn Estuary, the North Pennine Moors, and The Wash are some examples of England’s SPAs, with the latter regularly supporting over 400,000 waterbirds over the winter.

Photo: Brian Sumner

The JNCC and other conservation public bodies have carried out reviews of SPAs that focus on land and coastal sites, in doing so, they then made recommendations to Defra on the creation of new SPAs and adaptation of existing SPAs in order to protect and maintain certain wild bird populations.

The OEP will also be investigating the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland over possible failures to comply with Northern Ireland environmental law in relation to SPAs. At the same time, Environmental Standards Scotland (ESS) has also launched an investigation into similar issues in Scotland, with the Interim Environmental Protection Assessor for Wales (IEPAW) undertaking work that includes SPAs, with shared concerns over them – marking the first time this coordinated action has taken place.  Further information from the OEP can be read here.