13 Sep 2023

According to an investigation by the New York Times, the US is using up its groundwater at an alarming rate, threatening to squander a resource that is the backbone of the country’s farming system. Data analysis found that in the past decade, four of every 10 groundwater sites in the country hit all-time lows. This […]

12 Sep 2023

The Scottish Government is asking for views on its plans and actions to accelerate nature restoration and regeneration. The consultation sets out the key elements of Scotland’s overall Biodiversity Framework, including: Scotland’s Biodiversity Strategy – published in draft form in December 2022 – setting out goals of halting biodiversity loss by 2030 and reversing declines […]

12 Sep 2023

The Government has pledged to protect at least 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030 – the ‘30×30’ target. This important commitment has the potential to turn the tide on nature’s decline. However, a progress report for 2023 published by Wildlife and Countryside Link (WCL) reveals little progress in any of the three […]

12 Sep 2023

There are many factors impacting salmon both within freshwater and the marine environment. Our changing climate is resulting in significant changes in the marine environment as well as driving warmer winter river temperatures. Other pressures come from marine and coastal fisheries exploitation, barriers to the free movement of salmon through our river systems and the […]

12 Sep 2023

The UK government’s announcement that it had rejoined the European Union’s Horizon Europe science funding programme was cause for celebration among researchers in Britain and across Europe. But what will the terms of the deal – and the long time the UK was out of the programme – mean for those researchers and the country […]

12 Sep 2023

Britain’s climate ambitions have suffered a blow after no new offshore windfarms were secured in the government’s latest clean energy auction despite there being the potential for 5 gigawatts of projects – enough to power 8m homes a year. While it did result in contracts for a total of 3.7GW of solar power, onshore wind […]

12 Sep 2023

Sand is the most exploited natural resource in the world after water and is used to produce concrete and glass. Around six billion tonnes are dredged from the world’s oceans every year. This is “perilously” close to the natural replenishment rate of 10 to 16 billion tons per year necessary to sustain coastal and marine […]

06 Sep 2023

Last week, we reported how the government has scrapped nutrient neutrality rules on new developments, under pressure from housebuilders. Whilst the official press release included favourable quotes from developers and housebuilders, reaction from others has been somewhat less enthusiastic. The body set up by the government to hold it to account on protecting and improving […]