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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.

 

Cranborne Chase AONB becomes an International Dark Sky Reserve

Cranborne Chase becomes the first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the country to be designated in its entirety as an International Dark-Sky Reserve

Chasing Stars logo: Cranborne Chase AONB Dark Skies ReserveCranborne Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), one of the UK’s finest landscapes, has today (18th October 2019) been formally designated an International Dark-Sky Reserve (IDSR) by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) based in Tucson, USA.

Cranborne Chase AONB becomes the 14th Reserve across the globe, and joins an exclusive club of International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Protected Areas to gain international recognition for its dark skies.

“Some people are lucky enough to recognise ‘the Plough’, but for others, seeing stars and their constellations is often impossible because of light pollution. Here in Cranborne Chase we can see the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy, if the clouds allow!” said Linda Nunn, Director of Cranborne Chase AONB.

Adam Dalton, International Dark-Sky Places Program Manager at the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA), said: “Cranborne Chase has the largest central area of darkness of any International Dark-Sky Reserve in the UK. It is a huge area of land at almost 1000 sq kms, and less than 2 hours from London and Bristol. For those living and visiting this beautiful area, this is something to be celebrated and enjoyed.” 

 

Citizen scientists help Rewilding Europe analyse camera trap photos - Rewilding Europe

Wildlife enthusiasts can now contribute to rewilding efforts wherever they are. ZSL’s (Zoological Society of London) groundbreaking ‘Instant Wild’ platform allows everyone to collectively identify animals in camera trap photos. A research partnership with Rewilding Europe has already seen a wide range of species tagged in imagery from the Central Apennines rewilding area.

What do wolves and wild boar, pine marten and porcupine all have in common? Yes, they are all animals found in the Central Apennines rewilding area. But more than this, they have all recently been spotted in camera trap photos from the area by netizens using ZSL’s free and pioneering Instant Wild platform and app.

The pilot collaboration between ZSL and Rewilding Europe has seen camera trap imagery from the Central Apennines rewilding area fed into Instant Wild since August. The initiative may soon be scaled up to include imagery from other Rewilding Europe areas.

“With camera trap photos and videos from locations around the world posted online, Instant Wild lets citizen scientists take part in vital global conservation work,” says Kate Moses, a project manager with ZSL’s Conservation Technology Programme. “We’re really excited to be working with Rewilding Europe and seeing Instant Wild advance the cause of rewilding.”

Open collaboration: Every day tens of thousands of photos are generated by camera traps, but it takes far longer to study each of these images and correctly identify any wildlife that may be present. Such cameras are widely employed across Rewilding Europe’s rewilding areas, which means many of our partner foundations have significant backlogs of photos that need processing.

Instant Wild features a feed of imagery uploaded from participating conservation projects around the world

When we checked today the Featured Project was: Thames Estuary. Help conservation scientists to understand how seals use a popular haul-out site in the Thames Estuary.

Get involved here.

Cover of the Bat Crime Report 2018 

Bat Crime Report released - Bat Conservation Trust

On Friday Bat Conservation Trust launched Bat Crime 2018 – our annual report on levels of bat crime recorded, investigated and sometimes prosecuted. 2018 saw the smallest number of allegations of offences against bats being recorded for some years and a significant decrease in the number recorded in 2017. The reasons for this are far from clear, the number of cases in 2019 already surpass the 2018 figures.

Our report looks at why bats are protected and how the police and others deal with allegations of offences. It reveals which police forces deal with the greatest number of allegations and also provides analysis of the information we hold. We look at how each case is investigated and explain the various ways in which they are finalised.

Download the bat crime report 2018 here  

 

‘Rice breast’ in wildfowl increasingly prevalent, new research finds - British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) 

Peer-reviewed research coming from a joint British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) and Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) survey, has found the wildfowl disease sarcocystosis is both more prevalent and more widely distributed than previously thought.

Sarcocystosis, otherwise known as ‘rice breast’ because of how the disease appears in the breast of the birds, is a parasitic disease that infects the muscle of wildfowl and can cause weakness, potentially impacting survival rates and reproductive success.  Prevalence of the disease was recorded in several ways including surveys of wildfowlers who recorded the disease impacting ten different species, with mallard, wigeon and teal seemingly being the most affected.

Based on samples also provided by shooters, the authors were able to confirm that the disease was the parasite Sarcocystis rileyi. This parasite is relatively common in America where it passes between skunks and ducks. In Europe the assumption is that foxes and introduced raccoon dogs play the host role.

Dr. Matt Ellis, head of science at BASC and co-author of the paper, said: “This vital piece of work highlights an emerging issue to European wildfowl. As little is known of the health and fitness impacts of wildfowl who contract this parasite, this paper provides a useful baseline for further research."

The paper ‘Sarcocystis rileyi in UK free-living wildfowl (Anatidae): surveillance, histopathology and first molecular characterisation’ which represents a collaboration between BASC, WWT, Royal Veterinary College and Liverpool University, has been published in the Veterinary Record journal and is available here.

Any sightings of rice breast should be reported here.

 

UK wetlands get a health check - BTO

Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) Alerts, published today, highlight how well protected wetland sites in Great Britain and Northern Ireland are working for wintering waterbirds in the short-, medium- and long-term.

Wetland by Anne CottonWetland by Anne Cotton

Many of the UK’s wetlands are given protected status as a result of the number of ducks, geese, swans and waders that use these sites during the winter months. The WeBS Alerts system provides a method for identifying protected sites with notable changes in these numbers. The Medium and High Alerts provide evidence for notable declines, flagging-up issues that may require further investigation.
To trigger a Medium Alert a species must show a decline of at least 25%, whilst a High Alert is triggered by a decline of 50% or more in either the short-term (5 year) period, the medium-term (10 year) period, or the long-term (25 year) period.
WeBS Alerts assessed change for 471 site-species populations on 82 Special Protection Areas (SPAs) of international importance. Long-term High Alerts were triggered for 118 of these and Medium Alerts for a further 110. This means there is evidence of long-term declines of 25% or more for almost half of the featured species on our most important wetlands. In the previous health check six years ago, just a third of the featured species were flagged with long-term alerts. 

Some of these declines are because of large-scale changes in global waterbird distributions due to climate change. Others may be due to problems at the site itself.
Several declining ducks and waders such as Scaup, Goldeneye and Purple Sandpiper are becoming increasingly reliant on the SPAs designed to protect them. One species, the Pochard, Red listed under the UK Birds of Conservation Concern and IUCN Global Red List, clearly demonstrates the immense value of these protected areas. Whilst overall winter numbers in the UK are half what they used to be, numbers at protected sites have declined at a comparatively slower rate, so that protected sites now hold up to 40% of the British wintering Pochard population, compared to just 15% in the 1970s and 1980s. Almost no Pochard now occur in Northern Ireland outside the protected areas.To view the full report, please visit: www.bto.org/webs-alerts

 

No place like home: species are on the move, but many have nowhere to go - University of York

Many insects moving north in response to climate change find they have nowhere to go in Britain’s intensively managed landscapes, according to new research.

The Bog Bush Cricket is highly specialised and has been slow to expand its range. Photo by Gilles San Martin. Since the 1970s, insects in the warmer half of Britain have been flying, hopping and crawling northwards at an average rate of around five metres per day. Landscapes that were once too cold for them have been warming up, allowing many species to expand their ranges.

The Bog Bush Cricket is highly specialised and has been slow to expand its range.

Photo by Gilles San Martin.

However, the new study, led by researchers at the University of York, suggests that expansion rates have been limited by insufficient habitat in the areas that are becoming climatically suitable.

Limited by habitat

The study analysed 25 million recorded sightings of 300 different insect species and found there is huge variation in the rates at which they are moving and that not all species are able to keep pace with the warming conditions.

Scientists and conservationists have always assumed that species’ responses to climate change would be limited by habitat, but this is the first study to measure and quantify the effect across a large and diverse set of species.

Read the paper: Philip J. Platts, Suzanna C. Mason, Georgina Palmer, Jane K. Hill, Tom H. Oliver, Gary D. Powney, Richard Fox & Chris D. Thomas Habitat availability explains variation in climate-driven range shifts across multiple taxonomic groups, Scientific Reports, 10.1038/s41598-019-51582-2

 

Widespread drying of European peatlands in recent centuries - University of Exeter

Many of Europe’s peatlands are currently the driest they have been in the last 1,000 years, new research shows.

Scientists examined 31 peatlands across Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia and continental Europe to assess changes in peatland surface wetness over the last 2,000 years.

(image: Stephen Barclay)They found that nearly half of the study sites are now the driest they have been for a millennium.

(image: Stephen Barclay)

While changes to temperature and rainfall have significantly contributed to peatland drying, 42 percent of the sites had been significantly damaged by human activities.

The peatland sites in Britain and Ireland had the most extensive degradation compared to the other sites, with cutting, drainage, burning and grazing all contributing to peatland drying.

“Peatlands that are ‘healthy’ have an exceptional potential for the capture and storage of carbon from the atmosphere, and are one of Earth’s most important carbon sinks,” said Dr Thomas Roland, of the University of Exeter. “However, our study found that many European peatlands have been drying out over the last 300 years, most likely in response to climate change and human impacts, like draining, cutting and burning. This may transform these ecosystems from sinks to sources in the global carbon cycle, highlighting a vital need to protect, conserve and restore our peatlands.”

Study lead author Dr Graeme Swindles, from the University of Leeds, said: “Our study sites include some of the least damaged peatlands in Europe, but it is clear that almost all European peatlands have been affected by human activities to some extent.

 

Reports of crimes against wildlife continue to rise, reveals third annual wildlife crime report - Wildlife and Countryside Link

Wildlife and Countryside Link and Wales Environment Link, reveal today in their third Annual Wildlife Crime Report, that reports of alleged wildlife crime incidents to NGOs rose again in 2018, with an increase of more than 17% since our first report in 2016.

There were a total of 1,324 reports of wildlife crime incidents against bats, badgers, birds of prey, amphibians and reptiles, marine mammals, recorded by these NGOs in 2018, compared to 1287 in 2017 and 1130 in 2016. Despite the increase in reporting of wildlife crimes, the number of convictions remains very low, with just 11 individuals and businesses convicted of these types of crimes last year (see table below for further information).

Crimes against badgers, birds of prey and bats remain among the most common wildlife crimes reported. Also noteworthy is that the number of reports of marine mammal disturbances have more than doubled this year. This increase may be in part be explained by a public awareness increase and associated rise in reports of crimes.

Pete Charleston, Chair of Link’s Wildlife Crime Working Group and Conservation Wildlife Crime Officer for the Bat Conservation Trust, said: ‘The abuse and persecution of wildlife will remain invisible, and go unpunished, unless crimes against wildlife are effectively recorded and assessed. Wildlife crime police officers are hugely dedicated, but they need funding certainty and resources to catch these criminals, and tougher sentences available to ensure criminals face a punishment fit for their crime.’

Read the report here  

 

Developers urged to help pollinators - Scottish Natural Heritage

Developers are being encouraged to do more to help butterflies, bees and other pollinators in our towns and cities.

©Lorne Gill/SNHScottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has published new guidance for the planning and construction industry to create a more resilient and nature-rich urban environment.

Pollinators including bees, wasps, moths, butterflies and flies are vital for our biodiversity, but populations face challenges due to changes in land use, habitat loss, diseases, pesticides and climate change.

The new guide offers advice on how best to fit pollinators into urban design and construction with a series of easy to follow steps to suit all project budgets and sizes.

©Lorne Gill/SNH

Wildflower meadows, flowering trees, hedgerows, nectar-rich plants and herbs, window boxes, green roofs, living walls and sustainable drainage systems can all help expand the habitats of pollinators.

As well as helping nature, these simple steps create more attractive environments for living, working and travelling, support local authorities in meeting biodiversity priorities and contribute to developers’ corporate social responsibility.

 

Remote bird haven found strewn with elastic bands - National Trust

An uninhabited island that is so remote a permit is required to visit has been littered with thousands of elastic bands – by seabirds mistakenly thinking they are worms, the National Trust said.

Rangers who care for the colony off the Cornish coast were initially left scratching their heads by the phenomenon, which has seen coloured bands strewn across the island.

It is thought to be caused by great black-backed and herring gulls mistaking the bands for food while feeding in agricultural fields on the mainland, before returning to deposit them at roosting sites on the island. 

Experts monitoring the site found large numbers of tan, yellow and green bands among pellets regurgitated by the birds.

Small bundles of green fishing net and twine were also uncovered among the undigested food, likely mistaken by the gulls for tasty morsels floating on the surface of the sea.

Rachel Holder, Area Ranger for the National Trust, said: “Ingested plastic and rubber is another factor in a long list of challenges which our gulls and other seabirds must contend with just to survive.  Despite being noisy and boisterous and seemingly common, gulls are on the decline. They’re already struggling with changes to fish populations and disturbance to nesting sites - and eating elastic bands and fishing waste does nothing to ease their plight. Places like Mullion Island should be sanctuaries for our seabirds, so it’s distressing to see them become victims of human activity.”

Mullion Island is a small, rocky outpost off the Lizard Peninsula, cared for by the National Trust, that provides a sanctuary for nesting seabirds including great black-backed gulls - the largest species of gull in the world – herring gulls, cormorants and shags.

Despite public access to the isolated site being forbidden, the effects of human influence are increasingly evident.

The elastic bands are believed to have come from nearby horticultural fields, where they are used to tie together bunches of cut flowers.

  

Liverpool’s Allerton Oak crowned England’s Tree of the Year - Woodland Trust

Allerton Oak - Credit Jill Jennings Woodland TrustLiverpool’s lofty Allerton Oak has been crowned England’s Tree of the Year.

Allerton Oak - Credit Jill Jennings Woodland Trust

The tree, which stands in the city’s Calderstones Park and was once home to a medieval court, received an impressive 34% of more than 11,000 votes cast in the Woodland Trust’s annual competition, and will now represent the UK in the European Tree of the Year contest which begins in February 2020.

Adam Cormack, head of campaigning at the Woodland Trust said:

“The Allerton Oak is a spectacular example of a city tree. It has stood in Calderstones Park for centuries and has an intriguing story. Trees are an important part of the urban landscape helping to make our towns and cities better places to live. We are keen to increase understanding of their value and promote their protection. We are currently working with partners to help increase tree cover in the city and make Liverpool a greener place to live.”

The Colchester Castle Sycamore, which grows on top of the mighty Essex stronghold, came second while the mythical Dragon Tree on the Isle of Wight was a close third.

 

Gardenwatch; first findings on how we can improve our gardens for wildlife - BTO

Gardens provide important space for our wildlife, but they could provide even more, according to preliminary results from Gardenwatch, the UK’s biggest-ever garden audit.

Gardenwatch was launched on BBC Springwatch in May 2019, and asked people for information on garden features and wildlife across the country. The responses have given us fascinating new information on how people help wildlife in their gardens, and where there is still more that can be done.
The report covers 31 different wildlife-friendly garden features and practices, from feeding Badgers to leaving long grass to grow. A number of recommended practices are not as widespread as they could be, and some of these are things that people can start doing right away.
Right now the leaves are beginning to fall from trees across the UK, providing important food and cover for a myriad of invertebrate life and shelter for Hedgehogs, however, according to the Gardenwatch results, over half of us remove the leaves from our gardens, in effect removing a resource that will help to underpin other wildlife. Worms feed on fallen leaves, pulling them into their underground tunnels – more leaves means more worms and more food for birds such as Blackbirds and Song Thrushes.

 

First seal pups seen on the National Trust’s Farne Islands - National Trust

The first Atlantic grey seal pups of the season have been spotted on the Farne Islands, just off the Northumberland coast.

Globally, the Atlantic grey seal is one of the rarest seal species and is a protected sea mammal.  Global numbers are estimated to be around 300,000 with half living in British and Irish waters. 

The Farnes is home to one of the largest colonies in England and last year seal pup numbers reached a record high of 2,737 - an increase of 57 per cent over the last five years.

The sighting of the first pup of the year triggers the start of the seal pup count by National Trust rangers on the islands, and they’ll be waiting to see if the upward trend continues.

The rangers, who live on the Islands for nine months of the year, count the seals every four days in the autumn once pupping season begins, weather permitting.  Once born, they’re sprayed with a harmless vegetable dye to indicate the week they are born.  Using a rotation of three or four colours allows the rangers keep track of the numbers.

Ranger Thomas Hendry commented: “We wait until the first pups are born and then begin the process of counting and marking all pups born on the Islands. A lack of predators and a plentiful supply of fish – has helped bolster our seal pup numbers in recent years. Over the next few years we will monitor the effect of a growing seal population to manage the island habitats accordingly.”

Following a successful trial last year, rangers will use a drone to help make the count more accurate and less stressful for the seals. 

 

New B-lines to put the buzz back into Cornwall - Buglife

Bombus terrestris on Kelsey Head (c) Will HawkesAn ambitious new plan for helping our bees, butterflies, hoverflies and other pollinating insects is being launched today by Buglife, University of Exeter and Cornwall Council.

Bombus terrestris on Kelsey Head (c) Will Hawkes

Cornwall B-Lines will create rivers of wildflowers across the countryside connecting the county’s best wildlife sites from coast to coast, and from our towns to the countryside.

Buglife, University of Exeter and Cornwall Council have worked with partners to map out a network of potential wildflower habitat – B-Lines, and are now inviting farmers, landowners and the public to get involved in creating new pollinator habitat, and practically restoring wildflower-rich areas. 

Bees and other pollinators are disappearing from our countryside because of a lack of wildflower-rich habitats.  Three million hectares, 97%, of the UK’s wildflower-rich grasslands have been lost since the 1930s.  Creating B-Lines will help wildlife move across our countryside, saving threatened species and making sure that there are plenty of pollinators out there to help us grow crops and pollinate wildflowers.

Andrew Whitehouse from Buglife said “Our pollinating insects are in trouble.  In recent years it has become apparent that pollinator populations are fragile and if not cared for they can become damaged, depleted and cease to function.  But all is not lost.  We can fix this!  We have an opportunity to turn the tide, by putting wildflowers back into our Cornish countryside and towns, by creating B-Lines, we can put the buzz back into our countryside. With the B-Lines map we have an opportunity to make a big difference for wildlife.  If you have land which you are interested in restoring to wildflower-rich grassland, or if you would like to get involved in other ways, please get in touch – we’d love to hear from you.”

 

Scientists identify British butterflies most threatened by climate change - University of York

Scientists have discovered why climate change may be contributing to the decline of some British butterflies and moths, such as Silver-studded Blue and High Brown Fritillary butterflies.

Many British butterflies and moths have been responding to warmer temperatures by emerging earlier in the year and for the first time scientists have identified why this is creating winners and losers among species.

The findings will help conservationists identify butterfly and moth species most at risk from climate change, the researchers say.

Shrink in numbers

The study, led by the University of York, found that emerging earlier in the year may be benefitting species which have multiple, rapid breeding cycles per year and are flexible about their habitat (such as the Speckled Wood butterfly), by allowing them more time to bulk up in numbers before winter and expand their range towards the north.

In contrast, early emergence may be causing species that are habitat specialists and have only a single life-cycle per year, to shrink in numbers and disappear from northern parts of the country within their historical range.

Single generation species that are habitat specialists (like the rare High Brown Fritillary butterfly) are most vulnerable to climate change because they cannot benefit from extra breeding time and emerging earlier may throw them out of seasonal synchrony with their restricted diet of food resources, the researchers suggest.

Read the paper: Callum J. Macgregor, Chris D. Thomas, David B. Roy et al, Climate-induced phenology shifts linked to range expansions in species with multiple reproductive cycles per year, Nature Communications, 10.1038/s41467-019-12479-w

 

New report on state of our seas is the most comprehensive of its kind says environment chief - DAERA

A new report into the state of our seas is the most comprehensive assessment of its kind according to environment chief David Small.

Common dolphin (image: DAERA)The UK Marine Strategy, which is led by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) with input from devolved administrations including Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), means we now know more about the condition of our local marine environment than we ever did before.

Common dolphin (image: DAERA)

Mr Small, Head of DAERA’s Environment Marine and Fisheries Group said: “Today’s report gives us a much better understanding of the state of our seas and what’s in them. It also provides more analysis on the existing and emerging pressures and what more needs to be done to protect our marine environment, prevent its deterioration and restore it while allowing sustainable use of marine resources,” he explained. “Protecting our marine waters, which represent a third of our natural environment, is vital. As well as being home to a huge variety of marine species and habitats, our seas provide us with food, help regulate our climate and provide much of the oxygen we breathe.”

The report shows that in Northern Ireland, we have made good progress in recent years to achieve clean, healthy and biologically diverse seas, but there is still work to be done.

  

Environment Agency launches future of rivers consultation - Environment Agency

Safeguarding our water environment: Environment Agency launches consultation on future of rivers

Challenges and Choices consultation to seek input from members of the public, businesses and environmental organisations

Consultation to run for six months, seeking views on how river basin districts will be managed from 2021

Challenges covered include dry weather, climate change, pollution in our waters and invasive non-native species

Residents and organisations invited to give views on future management of our water environments.

The Environment Agency has invited the public to share their views and ideas on the future of our water environment and rivers through its ‘Challenges and Choices’ consultation, launched today (Thursday 24 October).

Members of the public, businesses and environmental organisations are being urged to give their views on how water in the eight river basin districts will be managed and looked after from 2021 onwards.

The current river basin management plans were published in February 2016. Each river basin district has its own plan, which is now being updated to provide a framework for improvements from 2021.

The water environment is a precious resource that must be preserved for the future prosperity of wildlife, people and business. We have already lost 90 per cent of the UK’s wetland habitats in the last 100 years and urgent action is needed to ensure we can protect what is left.

Better, faster ways to encourage greater investment in our water environment must be developed if we are to reverse the damage caused to these precious habitats.

  

CLA urges Bonfire Night organisers to avoid using sky lanterns - CLA

The CLA is urging local authorities, community groups and private individuals staging Bonfire Night displays not to release sky lanterns.

(image: CLA)The organisation is also asking event organisers to consider banning lanterns from their venues completely, in order to prevent spectators from releasing them.

CLA South East represents thousands of landowners, farmers and rural businesses in Kent, Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and the Isle of Wight.

(image: CLA)

Regional Director Michael Valenzia said: “While Bonfire Night offers a chance for people to enjoy themselves at one of the many organised displays across the region, we would urge them to do so without releasing sky lanterns. Releasing a naked flame with absolutely no control over where it will land is a serious threat to rural businesses, livestock, wildlife and the environment. There is simply no responsible way to use them. They can kill animals, litter the countryside and start fires.”

The CLA has been campaigning for a total ban for a number of years, and will continue to do so for the sake of farming, wildlife, the environment and property owners everywhere. More than 50 local authorities have so far implemented a ban.

Mr Valenzia added: “Animals could be injured or killed if they become trapped and entangled in debris, or if they eat items, causing choking and damage to internal organs.

 

‘Citizens’ army’ needed to tackle biosecurity risk from invasive non-native species - Environmental Audit Committee, Commons Select Committee

The Environmental Audit Committee calls for a ‘citizens’ army’ to tackle the growing threat from invasive species, estimated to cost Britain’s economy £1.8 billion a year.

MPs are calling for a ‘citizens’ army’ to tackle the growing threat from invasive species, estimated to cost Britain’s economy £1.8 billion a year. Trained volunteers would help identify and respond to biosecurity outbreaks, modelled on a system developed in New Zealand.

The report found that urgent action is needed to slow the rate of arrival of invasive species and prevent them becoming established. It estimates that around 40 non-native species will become invasive within 20 years.

MPs conclude that the Government has missed its legal targets on tackling invasive species and has failed to give it the same priority and funding as animal and plant health regimes. Current funding for biosecurity in Great Britain is estimated at £220 million a year however invasive species receive less than one per cent of that sum (£0.9m).

The term Invasive non-native species (INNS) describes those species that have been directly moved as a result of human activity.

The report calls on the Government to:

  • Train a ‘biosecurity citizens’ army’ of 1.3 million volunteers to identify and respond to outbreaks of invasive species
  • Establish a dedicated border force by 2020 to improve biosecurity at UK borders
  • Ban imports of problem species before they present a risk to the UK
  • Set up a rapid response emergency fund to enable agencies to tackle a threat before it becomes out of control
  • Increase funding to Non-Native Species Secretariat to £3 million a year
  • Include invasive pathogens in next Invasive Non-Native Species Strategy

Further information:

Read the report summary

Read the report conclusions and recommendations

Read the full report: Invasive species

  

Response : Resounding support for tripling UK budget for defences against ‘nature invaders’ - Wildlife and Countryside Link

Charities across the conservation, wildlife, environment and recreation sectors, coordinated by Wildlife and Countryside Link, are overwhelmingly backing the hugely welcome calls to strengthen our defences against invasive plant and animal species, in a new report from the Environmental Audit Committee today (Fri 25 Oct).

This report is particularly timely as the risk of invasive species is set to soar given the increase in new trade routes that is likely to result from Brexit and climate change making the UK more hospitable to a wider range of invasive species. Currently invasive species cost the UK economy at least £2bn per year, and invasives are classed as one of the top 5 risks to nature and a critical driver of our declining biodiversity. Yet measures to protect and manage the risks from invasive species make up just 0.4% of the UK spend on biosecurity, totalling 0.9 million per year.

Dr Paul Walton, Head of Habitats and Species, RSPB: ‘We strongly support the Committee’s calls for a drastic step change of our approach in tackling the threat of invasive species. The multi-billion pound cost to the economy from damage by invasive species is set to soar in the next decade as new species arrive on our shores from expanded trade and climate change improves conditions for them to establish. Prevention is always better than cure, yet the budget for our first lines of invasive defence is relatively miniscule. We urge the Government to announce the extra-funding needed in the forth-coming Budget and Spending Review.’  

Zoe Davies, Policy and Campaigns Manager, Wildlife and Countryside Link examines why EAC are right to criticise Government’s consistent under investment in, and consequent failure to tackle, this major environmental threat. Stark figures show that while invasive species control gets just 0.4% (£0.9m) of the biosecurity budget, we are letting in more than three times more listed species than all other areas of biosecurity combined. These plant and animal species are driving native wildlife to the brink and costing our economy £2bn a year. Treasury needs to treat invasive species like the ticking ecological time bomb they really are and triple funding to £3billion per year.

 

Designs of iconic new wildlife and birdwatching facility for Greater London's largest park are revealed - Lee Valley Regional Park

 Lee Valley Regional Park Authority is excited to unveil the designs for a brand new, state-of-the-art wildlife and birdwatching hub in the heart of Greater London’s largest park, set to open to the public in June 2020. The project will also incorporate environmental improvements for some of the park’s priority species, including the creation of a Kingfisher nest bank and enhancements to the lake’s existing reedbed which is the natural habitat for Bitterns.

 Bittern (image: Brenda Chanter & Mark Braun / Lee Valley)Designs for a new state-of-the-art bird and wildlife development in Lee Valley Regional Park, just north of London on the Hertfordshire Essex border, were unveiled today (Friday 25 October 2019).

 Bittern (image: Brenda Chanter & Mark Braun / Lee Valley)

The new venue, with a five metre viewing tower, will replace the 30-year-old Bittern Information Point at Fishers Green, near Waltham Abbey in Essex, which is nearing the end of its operational life. Overlooking Seventy Acres Lake, the current bird hide is one of the best places in the country to see the wintering Bittern, alongside other native species including Common Tern and Kingfisher.

Set to open to the public in June 2020, the fully accessible hide and information point will include a two-tier viewing area at ground level with a separate wildlife information room. Complete with a CCTV system and live nest box camera footage, it will provide visitors of all ages with undisturbed, close-up access to the lake’s wildlife.  

The venue will also offer far-reaching, 360 degree views of the surrounding area from a five metre viewing tower. Design works are currently underway for the plans to include a bespoke wetland habitat ‘living’ roof. Equipped with ramps and a lift, this new centre and is expected to become one of the most popular wildlife spotting areas in the 26-mile-long Lee Valley Regional Park which stretches from the Thames to Hertfordshire. 

The project will also involve habitat improvements for some of the park’s priority species, including the creation of a Kingfisher nest bank and enhancements to the lake’s existing reedbed.

 

Regulator calls on businesses to do more to protect the environment - Environment Agency

The Environment Agency's report includes a review of business compliance, greenhouse gas emissions, serious pollution incidents and illegal waste activity.

A new report shows the majority of England’s regulated businesses are working to protect the environment and support prosperity, although more work is needed to reduce serious pollution incidents and illegal waste activity.

Published today, the Environment Agency’s (EA) annual Regulating for People, Environment and Growth (RPEG) report reveals that greenhouse gas emissions from industry have been cut by half in the last 10 years and compliance rates of energy efficiency and emissions trading schemes are above 98%.

It also shows 92% of operators demonstrated good compliance with their environmental permit conditions. A record 72% of the waste produced by activities with permits was recovered, and high levels of bathing water quality have been maintained. 

The report highlights:

  • there were 533 serious pollution incidents in 2018, 14% fewer than 10 years ago, but 27% more than in 2017
  • 912 illegal waste sites were closed down by the EA last year, a 12% increase on previous year
  • 896 new illegal waste sites were discovered last year, blotting the country’s landscapes and undercutting legitimate businesses

The full report is available on the Environment Agency’s website.

 

Scientific Publications  

Victor Johansson, Oskar Kindvall, John Askling, Markus Franzén, Intense grazing of calcareous grasslands has negative consequences for the threatened marsh fritillary butterfly, Biological Conservation, Volume 239, 2019, 108280, ISSN 0006-3207, doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108280. 

 

Hilbers, J. P., Huijbregts, M. A. and Schipper, A. M. (2019), Predicting reintroduction costs for wildlife populations under anthropogenic stress. J Appl Ecol. Accepted Author Manuscript. doi:10.1111/1365-2664.13523

 

N.M. McHugh, B.L. Bown, J.A. Hemsley, J.M. Holland, Relationships between agri-environment scheme habitat characteristics and insectivorous bats on arable farmland, Basic and Applied Ecology, Volume 40, 2019, doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2019.09.002.

 

Daniel W. Montgomery, Stephen D. Simpson, Georg H. Engelhard, Silvana N. R. Birchenough & Rod W. Wilson Rising CO2 enhances hypoxia tolerance in a marine fish, Scientific Reports, 1038/s41598-019-51572-4

 

Elma Lahive, Alexander Walton, Alice A. Horton, David J. Spurgeon, Claus Svendsen, Microplastic particles reduce reproduction in the terrestrial worm Enchytraeus crypticus in a soil exposure, Environmental Pollution, doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113174.

 

Arias, M. , Elias, M. , Andraud, C. , Berthier, S. and Gomez, D. (2019), Transparency improves concealment in cryptically coloured moths. J Evol Biol. Accepted Author Manuscript. doi:10.1111/jeb.13560

 

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