Strengthening wildlife laws

We cannot afford to delay strengthening wildlife laws if we are to protect our existing SSSIs was English Nature's message to Government today. Whilst welcoming Environment Minister Michael Meacher's announcement that Government would be bringing forward changes to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, English Nature is pressing for these long-awaited changes to be announced in the Queen's speech this November.

"Additional powers are needed for the statutory conservation agencies, to secure the future of one third of SSSIs which currently suffer from neglect or, in extreme cases, deliberate damage", said Derek Langslow, English Nature's Chief Executive. "We need to be given these powers as soon as possible to prevent any further deterioration of some of the nation's most important wildlife sites", he continued. "In addition to strengthening wildlife legislation, we must also not forget the non-legislative and policy measures that need to be taken to solve the problems affecting England's SSSIs."

Further measures that English Nature want to see include:
- Improved financial incentives that ensure significant gains for wildlife and build on the active co-operation we receive from land owners and managers;
- Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy - intensive agricultural practices continue to have the most significant effects on our wildlife and CAP must be better targeted to deliver positive benefits for our SSSIs;
- Planning guidance should be strengthened to provide a much stiffer test before any developments on SSSIs are allowed.

Dr Langslow concluded: "Michael Meacher has affirmed the Government's intention to support these additional measures and we look forward to help implement them as soon as possible."

There are over 4,000 SSSIs in England and managed by over 32,000 owners and occupiers. They cover nearly 7% if England's total area. SSSIs are notified by the Council of English Nature because of the importance of their plants, animals or geological or physiographical features. Most SSSIs are privately owned or managed. Owners and occupiers of land within SSSIs are required to give English Nature written notice before carrying out any operation likely to damage the special wildlife interest.

SSSIs - Why we need change to improve our wealth of wildlife

The case for new legislation In fulfilment of a manifesto commitment to ensure better protection for wildlife, Government has recently undertaken a public consultation, SSSIs: Better Protection and Management, which has shown strong support for improvements to safeguard nationally important sites for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations. Successive Early Day Motions, most recently EDM 11, have demonstrated strong cross-party support, with 343 Members supporting the introduction of improved legislation in this November’s Queen’s speech.

English Nature believes that strengthened legislation is an essential component of a range of measures, all of which must be implemented to protect and manage SSSIs. Legislative change alone will not secure the desired improvements. Changes to policies and regulations are essential, and must be supported by adequate resources.

Securing effective management of SSSIs depends upon working in partnership with those who own or manage these special sites. It is vital to achieve the correct balance between incentive and regulation, to ensure that the very significant gains achieved through working in partnership with land owners and managers are maintained. English Nature believes that the following measures together will secure the necessary improvements:
- Changes in Legislation. The partnership approach works with many owners and occupiers but fall back powers are essential. We believe that the basic framework of legislation is sound, and that some changes would benefit its application, simplify the arrangements for landowners and lower the bureaucratic cost. The main legislative improvements would make Section 29 Orders available to all SSSIs, provide powers to deal with SSSIs suffering from neglect,, and introduce positive management orders to deal with third party damage;
- Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy so that payments to support agricultural production are disallowed on SSSIs. Agri-environment schemes need to be extended from the present 3% of the CAP budget to 5% and better targeted to SSSIs. Their prescriptions need to be tightened so that there are real benefits to achieving the targets set out in the Biodiversity Action Plan; Financial Guidelines governing management agreement payments need to be updated so that emphasis is placed on support for positive management, rather than compensatory agreements based on the principle of net profits forgone;
- Stewardship of land. An obligation needs to be placed on all public bodies who own land to sustain the special interest. This would include Local Authorities, Ministry of Defence and other Government Departments. Management of the land to retain the special interest should be a legal obligation of their ownership. Water quality and abstraction problems need to be addressed. Water companies must deliver their environmental obligations through the AMP 3 process, and an obligation should be placed on abstractors to retain or change water regimes so that the special interest is maintained;
- Environmental assessment procedures should be implemented in full, including the EIA Directive which stipulates that environmental impact assessment should be undertaken in all cases in which it is proposed to plough or intensify the management of semi-natural grasslands.
- Planning Guidance should be strengthened to provide a much stiffer test before any developments on SSSIs are allowed.
- forestry Support. The present range of grants and policies of the forestry Commission are supportive of nature conservation and the specific targets in the Biodiversity Plan. The role of forestry support should be modified to achieve the re-creation of habitats, such as heathland, on which there have been inappropriate plantings in the past.

Current condition of SSSIs

The condition of SSSIs is assessed by English Nature. Every SSSI is visited at least once every six years. The condition is assessed against the features of interest for which the site is considered to be nationally important. In 1998 28% of units were in an unfavourable condition, and either declining further, or showing no improvement. 56% of the site units were in a favourable condition, and a further 16% were in unfavourable condition, but showing signs of recovering as a result of positive management action. The proportion of units in unfavourable condition which are showing no sign of improvement continues to be a source of great concern. Some of the weaknesses in the Wildlife and Countryside Act The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes no provision for preventing damage to SSSIs occurring in a range of circumstances:
- The special interest of an SSSI may be destroyed by giving notice of intentions to carry out damaging activities, or as a result of very old planning permissions which would not be approved under modern planning guidance;
- Sites can simply be neglected - a lack of management will result in the decline of many habitats and species;
- Third parties can cause serious damage to SSSIs;
- If English Nature wishes to prevent an owner or occupier from carrying out a damaging operation, there is an obligation to offer a management agreement calculated under the basis of the existing Financial Guidelines, which offers owners compensation based upon net profit forgone. This diverts resources from positive payments to carry out nature conservation management. Improvements to legislation English Nature will continue to build positive voluntary partnerships wherever possible, and will use strengthened powers only in those cases where it proves impossible to secure effective management.

It is essential to balance stronger regulation with a fair, efficient and effective process, which will provide owners and occupiers of SSSIs with opportunities to resolve differences, and have their cases heard by both informal and formal dispute resolution processes. The following improvements to legislation would produce significant gains for wildlife. All SSSIs should be considered as nationally important; It should be possible to refuse consent for damaging operations without the obligation to offer a compensatory management agreement; A power is needed to prevent third parties from damaging sites; A power is needed to require owners to carry out specified management works, supported by positive payments and the necessary practical advice from English Nature; A duty should be imposed on all public bodies which own or lease SSSIs to manage them to maintain their special interest in accordance with the terms of a conservation statement: Penalties for damaging an SSSI should include the power to recover the costs of restoring damaged sites. Fines for damaging SSSIs should be increased to an exceptional Summary maximum of £20,000; English Nature needs powers of entry onto land, after requests have been refused, for the purposes of survey, monitoring and to see if an offence has been committed.