The new England Biodiversity Strategy (EBS) has just been launched by the Secretary of State Caroline Spelman at Camley Street Nature Park in London. The launch of the new EBS, which will run until 2020, took place at the same time as the announcement of the ‘Big Wildlife Garden’ competition, which Defra is running jointly with The Wildlife Trusts and the Royal Horticultural Society.
You can view the new England Biodiversity Strategy here: http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2011/08/19/england-biodiversity-strateg/
• What is the EBS?
The EBS was one of the key commitments set out in the Natural Environment White Paper launched in June and will be used as the foundation to guide conservation efforts in England over the next decade, including setting ambitions to halt overall loss of England’s biodiversity by 2020. It also sets out how England will respond to our international and EU commitments as agreed in the global Convection on Biological Diversity Strategic Plan 2011-2010 agreed in Nagoya in October last year and the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy published in May. The EBS provides a list of 22 priority actions and high level outcomes and then maps these (in Annex C of the strategy document) against the CBD’s 20 headline targets (called the “Aichi” targets) and the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy’s 6 high level themes. It’s quite a useful way to visualize exactly how the Government see these international targets implemented in England.
• What are the EBS priority actions?
The EBS sets out a four high level actions which build on:
o a more integrated large-scale approach to conservation on land and at sea, which builds on Sir John Lawton’s Making Space for Nature review, published last autumn and links into the recent announcement on the establishment of 12 new Nature Improvement Areas.
o putting people at the heart of biodiversity policy.
o reducing environmental pressures under six key sectors, including agriculture, forestry, planning and development and water management (see below for further details on these)
o improving our knowledge
It also identifies the six key sectors and actions the Government will work closely with, which I’ve summarised below.
o Agriculture – Improving the delivery of environmental outcomes from agricultural land management practices, whilst increasing food production by, for example, reviewing the use of advice, incentives and agri-environment schemes. Reform of the CAP to achieve greater environmental benefits.
o Forestry – Bring a greater proportion of existing woodlands into sustainable management and expand the area of woodland in England.
o Planning and Development – Through reforms of the planning system, take a strategic approach to planning for nature. Retain the protection and improvement of the natural environment as core objectives of the planning system. Pilot biodiversity offsetting, to assess its potential to deliver planning policy more effectively.
o Water Management – Protect water ecosystems, including habitats and species, through a river basin planning approach. Promote approaches to flood and erosion management which conserve the natural environment and improve biodiversity. Reform the water abstraction regime.
o Marine Management – Develop 10 Marine Plans which integrate economic, social and environmental considerations
o Fisheries – Ensure fisheries management supports wider environmental objectives, including the achievement of Good Environmental Status under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.
Additional areas for action include tackling the problems of air pollution at national, EU and international levels and tackling the issue of invasive non-native species through the Invasive Non-Native Species Framework.
• Next steps:
o The Delivery Plan for the EBS now needs to be developed with stakeholders over the coming months and is expected to be published towards the end of February 2012. Of particular interest for us will be the full details on the expected new governance structure which are currently lacking in the strategy document.
o Defra will shortly establish a separate group to bring together parties to reconcile the joint goals of increasing food production whilst improving the environment. The NFU can expect to be invited to join this group which will publish its conclusions within the next 12 months.
• NFU initial reaction:
The EBS is a high level document and holds few surprises for us as many of the actions have already been aired in the publication of the Natural Environment White Paper earlier this summer.
The NFU welcomes Defra’s intension that the new EBS should be seen as a new openness and increased willingness to include all stakeholders, including the agricultural industry, in the negotiations and discussion on biodiversity at all levels. We also welcome the explicit recognition that the tensions between improving environmental benefits and increasing food production can only be resolved by working together. On this point the Government states that it “will bring together government, industry and environmental partners to reconcile how we will achieve our goals of improving the environment and increasing food production”. NFU looks forward to being invited to contribute to these discussion and hence participate in shaping its conclusions, which can be expected to be published within the next 12 months.
However, the NFU reiterates that whilst we recognise that this strategy is focused on primarily the high level ambition of halting biodiversity loss, it is essential that the actions set out in the document also align with and complement the many other multiple benefits delivered in the landscape. Farmers and growers are already very aware of their responsibilities for managing the countryside and this is clearly demonstrated by farmers' involvement in agri-environment schemes - almost 70% of the countryside is in some sort of managed agreement - and in their participation in schemes such as the Voluntary Initiative and the Campaign for the Farmed Environment.
We are also keen to see the full details of the expected governance structure for the delivery of the new EBS; the NFU have been involved within the governance of the previous England Biodiversity Strategy at a number of levels and have been critical of its duplication and lack of join up.
No comments have been made.