A sign of the times

The latest strategic plan by the Environment Agency for England and Wales has shifted from a vision which opened with "a better quality of life for people, and an enhanced environment for wildlife", plus other commitments regarding cleaner air, water and soils, sustainability, climate change adaptation and finally reduced flooding risk, to one with four limited and specific pledges, which are to :

• clean up rivers,
• defend more properties against flooding,
• reduce emissions, discharges and waste from industry, and
• tackle the causes and consequences of climate change".

Note the exclusion of ‘enhanced environment for wildlife’ or any other mention of biodiversity from the list.

Forestry Commission officials in Wales, Scotland and England have confirmed that sales and long leases of national forestry and woodland are being considered as part of a range of options to cut budgets. The commission owns more than 875,000 hectares – mostly in Scotland – but depends on government for grants of more than £70m a year.

Officials have insisted that so far no detailed plans had been made and that specific impacts will depend on the outcome of the public spending review in the autumn.

Where environmental spending is devolved in Scotland we can only expect a similar trend as the government will no doubt also demand severe funding cuts – sometimes with national if not international impacts where rare habitats and species are involved.

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) already plan to lay-off staff on certain projects including scientific research into inland water quality, the health of soils and upland areas such as the Peak District, Lake District and the Highlands.

Other Scottish environment agencies will learn about the scale of their cuts in November but sources say they are already planning for a 20% fall in spending next year and for up to 10% a year for a number of years after that.

All this makes it very difficult to have any real hope that the Scottish Government will be effectively able to address the political management failures of the past and make any real strides towards the regeneration of the nearshore marine environment.

Category: SSACN Announcements