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Biodiversity policy UK: Public attitudes and understanding
Natural England has published a commissioned report - Engaging people in biodiversity issues: Final report of the Biodiversity Segmentation Scoping study (B2020-004) - useful background research on public attitudes and interests in biodiversity.
Biodiversity policy UK: Bees and other pollinators policy review
The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published a short review of policy and evidence on Bees and other pollinators. This is a first step in developing a national pollinator strategy for England in 2014 - expert workshops are planned for September and October 2013.
Biodiversity policy UK: England Biodiversity 2020 strategy updates
Biodiversity 2020 is the strategy for biodiversity in England, published in 2011. A simple guide and progress update has just been released, summarizing ...more/
a UK government statistical release and the 2012 Biodiversity Indicators Assessment. Also available to support the latter are a summary and technical papers on air pollution; expenditure; butterflies; fish size; and priority habitats.
Environment and Biodiversity policy UK: natural environment white paper updates
The UK government published a white paper in 2011 entitled The Natural Choice: Securing the Value of Nature, following a period of policy development described in a previous post. There are regular updates available on implementation.
Environment policy UK: review and national strategy on pollinators
Defra have announced an "urgent and comprehensive review of current policy, evidence and civil society action on pollinators" to inform the development of a national strategy on pollinators.
Environment policy UK: Tree health and plant biosecurity
The UK Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) convened a Tree Health and Plant Biosecurity Expert Taskforce as part of the response to the outbreak of Ash dieback disease caused by Chalara. The Taskforce final report recommendations are..../
- development of a prioritised UK Plant Health Risk Register.
- a Chief Plant Health Officer to own the UK Plant Health Risk Register and to provide strategic and tactical leadership for managing those risks.
- development and implementation procedures for preparedness and contingency planning to predict, monitor, and control the spread of pests and pathogens.
- review, simplification, and strengthening of governance and legislation.
- improvement of the use of epidemiological intelligence from EU/other regions and improvement of the EU regulations concerned with tree health and plant biosecurity.
- strengthening of biosecurity to reduce risks at the border and within the UK.
- development of a modern, user-friendly system to provide quick and intelligent access to information about tree health and plant biosecurity.
- addressing key skills shortages.
Environment policy UK: Natural Capital report
The UK government's Natural Capital Committee has produced the State of Natural Capital Report 2013 - taking an economic view of natural resources and ecosystem services. The Committee states:
"The evidence that exists indicates we are failing to conserve our natural capital assets and invest in them adequately. In many cases we are increasingly demanding more from them while at the same time eroding their capacity to deliver. The risk is that rather than underpinning future growth and prosperity, degraded natural capital assets will act as a break [sic] on progress and development. Furthermore, by failing to invest adequately in maintenance and enhancement, we risk missing opportunities that better management and stewardship of natural capital can offer."
And goes on to make recommendations on better measurement of natural capital; incorporation into national accounting; improved policy tools for decision-making and other topics. It also asserts that effective valuation and conservation of assets is good for economic growth
Marine Science Policy UK: new parliamentary inquiry reports
The UK House of Commons Science and Technology Committee has published the report of its inquiry into Marine Science. Selected conclusions and recommendations:
- the current UK Marine Science Strategy 2010-2025 should be supported by an implementation plan with clear goals and outcomes: the Marine Science Coordination Committee (MSCC) needs review and development.
- NERC needs to ensure adequate support for marine science as part of its responsibilities for national capacity
- For Marine Conservation Zones (MCZ): use of scientific evidence; management measure; and consultation processes all need clarity, development and improvement. The committee recommends clarification of policy goals and commitment.
- An action plan for long-term monitoring is needed, led by the MSCC and involving the government's Chief Scientific Adviser
- Potential for robotics and autonomous underwater vechicles for monitoring and data collection is highlighted.
Biodiversity policy EU: pollinators and neonicotinoids
The EU has just banned the use of neonicotinoids. A feature summary in Nature of research and policy developments relating to the impacts of neonicotinoid insecticides on bees and other pollinators gives a good overview. The European Environment Agency issued the second report on the precautionary principle and impacts from various substances - Late Lessons from Early Warnings: Science, Precaution, Innovation. This follows the earlier review of the history of the precautionary principle Late Lessons from Early Warnings: the Precautionary Principle 1896-2000, produced in 2001.
The UK House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee in April 2013 published the report of its inquiry on Pollinators and Pesticides, with a particular focus on neonicotinoids, which have been causing concern because of reported impacts on both honeybees and wild pollinators. Selected recommendations to the UK government are:
- national monitoring of wild insect pollinator species
- risk assesssment results should be placed in the public domain and should be extended to sentinel pollinator species
- review of the precautionary principle in approval of pesticides for use
- a UK action plan for sustainable use of pesticides
- a moratorium on use of imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam on bee-attractive corps by 1 January 2014, and immediate withdrawal of amateur garden use.
- developing valuation of ecosystem services urgently to address pollinators