Friends of the Earth
Action Briefing April /May 1999
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Birmingham Friends of the Earth Action Briefing April /May 1999 |
Report by Martin Stride
The campaign for better protection of wildlife and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) reached an important stage on Wednesday 10th March when hundreds of supporters attended an urgent lobby of Parliament in support of the Wildlife Bill. It is at this time of year when the government makes decisions about any new legislation to be introduced in the Autumn. Thus it was vital to convince government that massive support exists for the Wildlife Bill and indeed the crowds queuing outside for the lobby would have left passing MPs in no doubt as to the strength of support. The day kicked off with a briefing for supporters in the Grand Committee Room. Speakers included David Lepper the Labour MP who is promoting the Bill, Tony Juniper of Friends of the Earth, and the Environment Minister himself, Michael Meacher. A small contingent from Birmingham FoE braved the elements (and the stopping train to London!) to attend the event and lobby their MPs. While queuing outside the House of Commons for the lobby, two giant daisies appeared, to the delight of the gathered TV and press photographers, and gave their support to the Bill, urging that new wildlife laws were needed now if they were to have a decent life. (The daisies were in fact two heavily disguised members of Birmingham FOE!)
The Lobby was a big success, and the turnout was impressive. A big thank-you to all those who attended. Both daises agreed - It was a 'blooming' good day!
Thanks to all those letters and signed daisy cards, the Bill has now gained cross party support from a large number of MPs along with massive public support, and has the full backing of Michael Meacher, the environment Minister. At the time of writing, 326 MPs have signed up in support of the Bill, so clearly there is a definite will to introduce new legislation. Time is the only factor which can prevent the introduction of new wildlife laws. Other legislation may be higher up the list of government priorities, and so new wildlife laws may be simply squeezed out by other things which the government considers to be more important. At this stage it is crucial to convince Tony Blair and the deputy PM John Prescott that new wildlife laws are needed urgently- in fact this Autumn. If you haven't already done so please write to your MP asking them to support the Wildlife Bill and then ask them to write to Tony Blair to emphasise the need for new wildlife legislation. It would also be worth writing to John Prescott directly, asking him to ensure that new wildlife legislation is introduced in the next Queens Speech. Ultimately what is included in the Queens Speech in Autumn will be determined by the government's list of priorities, and so we need to persist in our campaign. The more letters reaching the PM and his deputy John Prescott, then the more likely are measures in the Wildlife Bill to become law this Autumn. Keep up the pressure!
At the moment, the protection afforded to nationally important wildlife sites is woefully inadequate, and often, there is little to deter people from damaging sites, whether intentionally or unintentionally. According to data from the governments own wildlife advisers: 300 SSSIs are damaged each year between 1991/92 and 1995/6, one in five SSSIs experienced damage according to English Nature, 45% of SSSIs are in an unfavourable condition. Even sites which are just left alone are vulnerable. SSSIs usually need to be positively managed to preserve their special characteristics, and many suffer from neglect. At the moment there is little provision for the positive management of these sites.
The Bill is being promoted by David Lepper MP, and is one of the most popular resolutions this session. It was drafted in consultation with 22 other wildlife organisations including WWF-UK, the RSPB, and the Wildlife Trusts. Some of the main measures contained within the Bill include: increased penalties for those who damage sites imposing restoration orders so that any damaged sites are returned to their original undamaged condition; introduction of incentives for positive management; creation of new powers to enable wildlife agency staff into wildlife areas for inspection and monitoring purposes tighter planning rules and powers to revoke old minerals permissions (e.g. for peat extraction) protection to be extended to nationally important marine sites.
As well as giving greater protection to designated sites, there are also to be measures aimed at protecting wildlife outside SSSIs. Furthermore many sites may not necessarily be of national importance, but may be of local significance, and therefore worth protecting. Local authorities would therefore be able to designate areas of nature conservation interest within their own boundaries. Such local wildlife sites would be afforded protection under new regulations made by the government. These measures are particularly significant for a place like Birmingham, where there are many patches of land which are locally valuable for wildlife, and are an asset to the local community, but are not nationally important. They are often considered simply as waste ground, and are at the mercy of developers and vandals. A good illustration of this is an area of land in Bournbrook, (in the Selly Oak area) which is appreciated by many local people as a valuable wildlife asset, but is under threat from developers. It was recently in the news after being damaged by a group of people using off road vehicles. Trees were actually uprooted to make tracks for the vehicles. The Bournbrook Conservation Group is fighting to save this oasis of wildlife in south west Birmingham.
Birmingham has Edgbaston Pool and Sutton Park, but there are many more SSSIs in the West Midlands. Three sites are threatened by the proposed Birmingham Northern Relief Road Toll Motorway. These are at Chasewater Heath, South Staffordshire Parts of the River Blythe, North Warwickshire Coleshill and Bannerly Pools, North Warwickshire
Detailed information on SSSIs and further local examples can be found by visiting the Friends of the Earth Wild Places web site at: http:/www.foe.co.uk/wildplaces/.