A report published by Natural England last week highlights the extent to which habitat loss, invasive species, pollution and now climate change have impacted on England’s species. “Lost Life: England’s Lost and Threatened Species” suggests that, amongst other figures, 24% of butterfly species and 22% of species of amphibian in England have been driven to extinction. The report represents the first ever audit of England’s lost and declining native species, collating all available data. It was the focus of a piece by Robin McKie, the Guardian’s science editor, in this Sunday’s Observer.

Interviewed for the article, Dr Tom Tew, Chief Scientist at Natural England, states that Natural England have in fact underestimated the loss of England’s wildlife; “we wanted to avoid repercussions of being alarmist…There are many more species we think we’ve lost but but we have not included them as they’re not officially extinct.”

The Natural England report identified the major driver of species loss over the last century as habitat loss. Speaking to the Observer, Dr Tew identified farming as a major offender within this, with ‘waves’ of species extinction coinciding with ‘revolutions’ in farming practice. Mechanisation and intensive landkeeping from 1900 onwards saw the first major swathe of extinctions in the countryside, followed by increasing applications of chemical pesticides and fertilisers from 1945 onwards, as food security became an increasing concern. By the middle of the 21st Century, Dr Tew suggests, climate change will account for the majority of future extinctions of English wildlife.

Farming is mainly to blame for the loss of our native plants and wildlife: Observer, Sunday 14th March

Speaking at the tenth annual Darwin Initiative lecture last night (see post below for further details), Hilary Benn announced that Professor Sir John Lawton, ex-President of the BES, has been appointed to chair the review of England’s wildlife network.

The review will explore if England’s collection of wildlife areas represents a coherent and robust ecological network that will be capable of responding to future pressures such as climate change. Commenting on his appointment, Professor Lawton said that “Climate change poses a major challenge for England’s wildlife, but it is by no means the only threat. We need to ensure that the existing protected-area network is fit for purpose, and if it isn’t, what we do about it.” The review will publish its findings in June 2010.

Water quality in England and Wales has improved for the nineteenth year in a row the Environment Agency announced today. Seven out of 10 English rivers and nine out of 10 Welsh rivers achieved what is termed “very good” or “good” status in terms of chemical and biological water quality in 2008. Wildlife has been returning to some of these rivers. 50 years ago, no salmon were seen on the River Tyne, but already this year more than 10,000 have been recorded migrating up river. Meanwhile otters have this year been recorded in both Greater Manchester and the lower Thames for the first time in 40 years. After moving into Sussex this year, otters can now once again be found in every English county.

However, only five of the 6,114 rivers in England and Wales are in pristine condition, and more than three-quarters are expected to fail new European quality standards. The European Water Framework Directive, which became law in the UK in 2003, sets even higher quality standards, using a wider and more sophisticated range of more than 30 different measures. Only 26% of rivers in England and Wales are classified as “good” under the new requirements, and only five satisfy the highest standards. These are in remote areas of Northumberland and Wales.

Under the new standards, 117 rivers are classified as being in bad condition, ranked on a par with the dirtiest rivers in eastern Europe, a further 742 are considered to be in “poor condition” and 3,654, or 60%, are in “moderate” condition. This presents a headache for the government because it is legally required by Europe to ensure that 95% of all British rivers are in “good” ecological condition by 2015. At the present rate of improvement, only a further 5% will meet the conditions by 2015. This could eventually leave Britain open to unlimited fines and court cases on a European level.

Lakes are faring no better, with only one out of 762 English and Welsh lakes considered to be of high status, and seven considered “bad”. None were named by the agency but it admits nearly 70% of lakes are in line to miss the targets.
It is estimated that it could cost £9bn to get 95% of UK rivers to “good” status by 2015. If, as expected, this proves impossible, the EU allows interim targets to be set for 2015 and 2021.

The government is currently preparing its River Basin Management Plans, which will be published on 22 December 2009. These will outline the targets and methods used to improve water quality in 11 catchment areas. A six-month consultation took place on the proposed plans earlier in the year. A coalition of major NGOs declared that the proposals showed ‘an unacceptably weak level of ambition’. Perhaps the EU will help the UK become more ambitious.

For further details, visit the ‘Our Rivers’ website.

At the ‘Lakes for Living, Lakes for Life’ conference being held on the shores of Lake Windermere this week, the Environment Agency has announced that it will assess the 730 most important lakes in England & Wales which need to meet the high standards of the Water Framework Directive.

Whilst river water quality has improved dramatically over the past 20 years, lakes have often continued to deteriorate in the face of more complex environmental challenges. Numerous iconic lakes are threatened by a range of problems. Pesticides and fertilisers from farming are contributing to regular blue-green algal blooms in the Lake District, which prevent people from going into the water. Meanwhile introduced species, such as the New Zealand Pigmyweed, have escaped into lakes like Windermere and are now out-competing many native species. Climate change is also forecast to bring severe problems, with more intense storms creating the potential for increased soil and pollution to be washed off the land into our lakes.

The Environment agency is currently developing plans to improve the condition of lakes and rivers across England and Wales. Under the Water Framework Directive, plans must be approved by the end of 2009 outlining how all our water bodies will be restored to health. Currently 85% of our lakes are failing to meet ‘Good Ecological Status’ (GES).

The draft plans published by the Environment Agency in December 2008 suggested that we would only aim to achieve a 4% increase in GES in rivers, while there is no planned improvement at all for lakes, estuaries and coastal waters. The Environment Agency and Defra have acknowledged that this is an unacceptably weak level of ambition, and that more must be done. They are asking for public input as to how this will be achieved.

Consultation is therefore now under way, and runs until the 22nd June 2009. If you would like to participate in this very important consultation, which will dictate freshwater management until 2015 and beyond, please visit the environment agency website.

A coalition of environmental NGOs have also launched a very useful website which will feed into the consultation. Visit the Our Rivers website.

Natural England have this morning warned that the poor condition of lowland heathland across Britain is putting many species at risk of extinction, including stone curlews and nightjars.

A survey by the organisation, the first of its kind in England, has revealed that all lowland heathland sites outside of legally protected conservation areas are in poor condition and do not meet the standards of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Due to the expansion of urban areas, only 60,000 hectares remain covered by lowland heathland in England.

Lowland heathland is a priority habitat under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, which sets targets for the management of these areas and for establishment of new heathland sites.