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.

The Secretary of State for the Environment, Hilary Benn, has announced (19 March) that next year will see the implementation of the first stage in Defra’s plan to vaccinate badgers against bovine TB. The disease costs the farming industry millions of pounds each year and results in thousands of cattle infected with the disease going to slaughter.

Six areas, precise locations to be announced after consultation with the farming industry, will be the focus for the first stage of the vaccination scheme, which will begin in summer 2010 and continue for at least five years. The Conservatives have challenged the Government’ focus on vaccination, calling for a badger cull. The UK Government’s plans are also at odds with those of the Welsh Assembly Government, which is expected to announce further details of its plan to instigate a large-scale badger cull in Wales, later this month.

Defra will begin to train farmers and vets, who will be responsible for trapping and vaccinating the badgers, later this year.

See more at the BBC Website

Applications are now welcome for the 2009 BES Parliamentary Shadowing Scheme.

The scheme is now in its third year. Since 2007 our ecologists have had the opportunity to shadow two Parliamentary Under-Secretaries (Barry Gardiner MP and Joan Ruddock MP) at Defra, two MEPs (John Bowis MEP and Linda McAvan MP), plus officials from the devolved administrations. Those members of the BES who have taken part have commented on the value of this experience to them; gaining an unprecedented opportunity to gain first-hand experience of how science is used to inform policy-making. Ecologists spend one-two days with the parliamentarian, before spending another day or so with civil servants and policy-advisors.

The full list of Ministers, MEPs and Officials who have agreed to participate in the 2009 scheme has yet to be finalised. However, we are delighted to confirm that the following have so far agreed to take part:

• Jane Davidson AM, Minister for the Environment, Sustainability and Housing at the Welsh Assembly Government
• Professor Maggie Gill, Chief Scientific Advisor for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Scottish Government
• Linda McAvan MEP, Labour Spokesperson on the Environment, European Parliament
  Expenses

If you are a member of the BES and an early-career researcher (no more than eight years since finishing PhD) interested in the science-policy interface, then consider applying. The BES will cover all reasonable expenses you incur whilst on the scheme.

Find out more at the BES website.
Closing date: 27 February

The Welsh Government yesterday granted assent for the development of Wales’ largest wind farm – and the second largest in the world – off the North coast of the country. When complete, in 2014, and fully operational, the wind turbines will supply electricity for 700,000 homes.

The wind farm, at Gwent y Môr, will be built by NPower Renewables and will generate 750MW of ‘clean’ energy. The approval brings Wales a step closer to meeting its ambitious target, announced by Jane Davidson, Environment Minister, in February: to supply all of Wales’ electricity from green, ‘clean’ sources by 2025. Electricity generation accounts for 30% of Wales’ carbon emissions.

The UK is the world’s leader in generating power from offshore wind farms, with a total offshore built capacity of 590MW at present. The proposed ‘London Array’ in the outer Thames Estuary, which would generate 1GW of power.

The announcement from Wales follows Tuesday’s ‘plugging in’ of the largest wind farm in Europe into the Portuguese National Grid. The development, in the Upper Minho region of Portugal will provide 1% of the country’s total energy and will supply electricity for over 1 million residents.

See original article in the Guardian, 4 December 2008: Go-ahead for wind farm puts Wales on track to meet clean energy targets

The Science Policy team yesterday attended the final day of the annual Environment Agency conference, which saw Jane Davidson, Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing at the Welsh Assembly Government, Ed Milliband, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, and Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, deliver keynote addresses.

Jane Davidson set our her vision for ‘One Wales, One Planet’, a new scheme which commits Wales to become a ‘one planet nation’. The Government aims to reduce the ecological footprint of Wales to 1.88 global Ha per person, from 5.16Ha pp at present. This will involve an 80-90% reduction in the use of carbon-based energy, plus an associated reduction in carbon emissions, a reduction in waste and in travel. Wales is committed to a 3% year-on-year reduction in emissions from 2011.

Ed Milliband, delivering his first speech as Secretary of State at the new Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), emphasised the need to “up the pace”, with respect to tackling climate change, calling on the public sector to play a greater role in energy generation. He stressed that carbon emissions from aviation can no longer be overlooked, with an amendment to the UK Climate Change Bill meaning that emissions from aviation will be taken account of in carbon targets. Mr Milliband also highlighted the opportunities for creating “green jobs” which a switch to renewable energy and development of ‘green’ technologies could bring: “greening the upturn” in the economy which would mark a climb out of recession.

Boris Johnson used his speech to announce a new ‘priority parks’ initiative, allowing the public to vote for 47 green spaces which they would like to receive investment. The top-10 parks will receive a £400,000 award for improvements. Mr Johnson stated that he had has his ‘mind changed’ over climate change, based on the ‘huge body of scientific evidence’. It was his duty as Mayor, he said, to create a city which is tree-lined, enjoyable and above all, a ‘nice’ place to live. London could be the centre of a green revolution. The cornerstone of this is the Mayor’s recently announced plan to introduce 6-10,000 bicycles to the streets under a cycle-hire scheme, and the introduction of cycle ’super-highways’.

A business forum saw corporate figures questioned by the Chair and audience over their sectors’ plans for mitigating and adapting to climate change. One speaker, Mike Barry, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Marks and Spencers, highlighted the need for organisations such as M and S to pay heed to ’sound science’ when making decisions regarding ‘greening’ their supply chains, and the importance of gathering multiple stakeholders together to discuss potential solutions based on this.

The Welsh Assembly Government has announced that it will provide £23.5 million to support a £55 million alliance between the universities of Bangor and Aberystwyth. The alliance will bring together Aberystwyth’s Institute for Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences and Bangor’s College of Natural Sciences to create the largest group of biological, environmental and rural scientists in the UK.

Research at the newly formed group will focus on some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges, including climate change, renewable energy, food security and wildlife disease.

The Science and the Assembly meeting was held yesterday at the Welsh Devolved Assembly Government in Cardiff.

The British Ecological Society took the opportunity to create a presence at The Welsh Assembly Government, to promote the science of ecology and forge links with relevant organisations.

Talks were held at the Wales Millennium Centre on the theme of ‘Green Chemistry and the Environment,’ hosted by the The Royal Society of Chemistry. Of particular interest were talks of relevance to ecology and policy; ‘Grassland for a Sustainable Future’ by Professor Mervyn Humphreys of Aberystwyth University and ‘Bioactive Natural Products from Common Plants’ by Professor Mark Baird of Bangor University.

Grassland for a Sustainable Future

Key aims of current and future research included using renewable feedstocks, preventing waste, reducing pollution and renewable energy. Prof. Humphreys hopes to develop methods for screening genotypes of grass species such as Miscanthus, (a perennial grass native to Japan and China that can be used as a fuel). Genotypes differ in lignin content, which affects the boiling point of oils produced and thus their potential for different uses. Other topical work included looking at how clover roots can improve soil structure and sequester carbon; and investigating high sugar-content grasses’ ability to reduce nitrogen wastage from cows and sheep and possibly reduce methane output.

Bioactive Natural Products from Common Plants

Chemical compounds naturally produced in plants can be used for human benefit in terms of pest control, health purposes and biofuels. For example, bioactive products from native welsh bluebells could potentially be used to control bracken, and products could also potentially be used to help fight TB, cancer, diabetes and be used for glues and pigments. Additionally, fatty acids (triglycerides) in certain native welsh plants could be used and/or modified for the purpose of biofuels. However regarding the use of native plants as biofuels, there was uncertainty surrounding the scale of plantations needed in order to match existing fossil fuel supplies, and scant mention of the potential social and environmental consequences of such a move.

Jane Davidson encouraged the scientific community to contact her with any information that could be of use to help the Welsh Assembly Environment team in future policy making, or such matters.

The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has today launched a new inquiry into climate change and local, regional and devolved government. With a vital role to play in reducing emissions , all levels of government should work to mitigate the effects of, and generate strategies to adapt to, climate change. Recent evidence to the Committee suggests a lack of cohesion between the various levels of government in the UK with respect to engagement in this area. Written evidence to the Committee from organisations and members of the public is invited by 3 January 2008.

Scottish Executive
Rural Affairs and the Environment

• Cabinet Secretary: Richard Lochhead MSP
• Minister for Environment: Michael Russell MSP

Education & Lifelong Learning

• Minister for Schools and Skills: Maureen Watt MSP
• Cabinet Secretary: Fiona Hyslop MSP

Welsh Assembly Government

First Minister (including science): Rhodri Morgan AM
Sustainability and Rural Development: Jane Davidson AM
Education, Culture and the Welsh Language: Carwyn Jones AM