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Bad News for UK Wildlife |
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Posted: 22 May 2007 at 3:30pm |
Government looks set to launch multiple assault on wildlife:
http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/?press_id=1940&cid=3ff49ea a1b8c179d Government looks set to launch multiple assault on wildlifePlanning White Paper published 21 May 200721st May, 2007
The Planning White Paper, published on the eve of International Biodiversity Day, paves the way for a multiple assault on our most vulnerable wildlife, according to The Wildlife Trusts. The Government is keen to speed up development of major infrastructure projects (MIPs) and may argue this is to allow for renewable energy schemes to be built more quickly. However, The Wildlife Trusts point out that, alongside speeding up schemes such as wind farms, the proposals also pave the way for large-scale transport, waste and reservoir developments. Government plans could devastate wildlife as it struggles to adapt to climate change. For example, recovering otter populations are seriously threatened by collisions on roads and wildlife habitats are lost each year to major development, including landfill sites and reservoirs. The blows to biodiversity, as proposed in the White Paper, are multiple: ò Assault One ò Assault Two ò Assault Three ò Assault Four ò Assault Five Stephanie Hilborne, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, said: ôThis is a multiple assault on our environment. If proposals go ahead, wildlife havens will be destroyed, forests bisected, coasts concreted and all the while local wildlife defenders will stand by, gagged. This comes at the very time we need a visionary approach from Government to allow wildlife to adapt to climate change. ôWildlife didnÆt have to cross huge impermeable barriers like the M4 when it recolonised after the last Ice Age. Far from creating still more barriers, planning should now allow for landscape-scale habitat restoration and give wildlife a better chance to adapt to climate change. Clever planning can also contribute a great deal to reducing emissions. ôHowever, the Planning White Paper gives the green light for carbon-hungry developments, such as new motorways and airports. This is not consistent with national policy on climate change or the recommendations of the Stern Review. It is a missed opportunity.ö For case studies and further information please contact: Anna Guthrie Story by RSWTEditor's Notesò The Wildlife Trusts are big players in the planning process, with 50 staff involved in local planning work. During the financial year 2005/6, The Wildlife Trusts monitored over 90,000 planning applications, responded to nearly 5,000 and improved over 1,200 for wildlife. |
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