Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
Her Majesty's Government what action they have taken to prevent the curlew from becoming extinct since that bird was added to the Birds of Conservation Concern 4: the Red list for Birds, in December 2015.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The UK network of 270 classified special protection areas, covering approximately 2.8 million hectares of key habitats, protects many rare, threatened and vulnerable birds including curlews.
The Government’s agri-environment schemes have been designed to encourage habitat management including for curlew conservation in targeted areas, to provide suitable nesting and foraging conditions.
Natural England is working with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds on a recovery programme aimed at providing a coordinated approach to the management of curlew habitats, including predator control to increase breeding numbers. This forms part of an international action plan to address the ‘near threatened’ status of the curlew, which the UK will support in our role as signatory of the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their strategy to reduce urban air pollution; and whether a programme of tree planting in urban areas forms part of that strategy.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government’s plans for tackling air quality are set out in the national air quality plan for nitrogen dioxide, which was published in December 2015 and will be revised by 31 July this year. The Air Quality Expert Group (AQEG) is considering the evidence around the potential of trees to contribute to improvements in air quality to inform our further policy development. The AQEG is an Expert Committee to Defra that provides independent scientific advice on air quality.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the estimated cost to the British economy of the control of invasive non-native species; and whether those costs are increasing or decreasing.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government recognises the significant threat posed by invasive non-native species to our native wildlife, as well as their cost to the economy. The Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International’s report “The Economic Cost of Invasive Non-Native Species on Great Britain”, published in 2010, estimated the cost from these species to be £1.7 billion per annum, which includes both damage caused and the cost of control.
We do not have data to indicate how the cost of control has changed since 2010 but recognising the growing threat posed by these species, the Government launched the GB Invasive Non-Native Species Strategy in 2008. This comprehensive strategy ensures that we concentrate our efforts on prevention and rapid responses to species before they become fully established. For instance, we took early action to address the threats posed by water primrose by banning its sale in 2015, and instigating a successful eradication programme.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that air pollution levels are reduced in the UK, in the light of the alert declared in London recently as a result of toxic air peaks.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The United Kingdom complies with EU legislation for nearly all air pollutants, but faces challenges in achieving nitrogen dioxide limits, along with 16 other EU member states. That is why we have committed more than £2 billion since 2011 to reduce transport emissions and the autumn statement provided a further £290 million to support greener transport. Air quality is improving, but the Government recognises that we need to go further and faster and we will be consulting on a new national plan by 24 April. The final plan will be in place by the end of July.
As part of the national air quality plan already in place we are requiring five cities (Birmingham, Derby, Leeds, Nottingham and Southampton) to implement Clean Air Zones.
London faces the greatest challenge because of the size and complexity of the Capital’s transport networks and construction activity from unprecedented growth. The Mayor is responsible for air quality in the capital and has reserve powers under Part IV of the 1995 Environment Act to enable this. Under the Act the Mayor may direct the boroughs in the Greater London area concerning how they should assess and prioritise action in their areas. From September 2020 an Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) will be introduced in London. The ULEZ will apply to all cars, motorcycles, vans, minibuses, buses, coaches and HGVs and will cover the same area as the current Congestion Charge Zone.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to increase global public awareness of the extinction crisis facing primates, as set out the global study <i>Impending Extinction Crisis of the World's Primates: Why Primates Matter</i> published in Science Advances on 18 January.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The UK is a member of the Great Apes Survival Partnership, a United Nations conservation programme which aims to bring worldwide attention to the crisis facing great apes.
The Flagship Species Fund, a joint initiative between Defra and Fauna and Flora International, supported a project in 2014 to 2015 to promote awareness by local communities in Cameroon of the need to conserve the cross-river gorilla.
The global study “Impending Extinction Crisis of the World's Primates: Why Primates Matter” identifies habitat loss as one of the main threats facing primates. The UK is committed to tackling deforestation and promoting the sustainable management of the world’s forests for the protection of biodiversity, and to support our climate and international development aims. Defra has implemented EU Regulations designed to tackle the trade in illegal timber and prevent illegal logging as well as invested £170m of the International Climate Fund in forestry projects around the world.
Defra’s Darwin Initiative is a UK Government grant scheme which helps to protect biodiversity and the natural environment through locally-based projects worldwide. Over the last 25 years, the Darwin Initiative has supported biodiversity projects in developing countries which have benefitted primates either directly focussing on specific species or indirectly through tackling habitat loss. These include a current project in Uganda looking at how gorilla-based tourism generates increased benefits for poor people living around Bwindi Forest, improving local support for the park and for conservation of gorillas. Another project worked with local communities in Madagascar to reduce hunting of lemurs.
Defra has also funded Darwin projects on sustainable forest management, to improve the natural habitat for many primates, including a current project in the Manu Biosphere Reserve, Peru showing how rainforest regeneration can deliver high priority biodiversity conservation as well as enhanced livelihoods for local communities.
The primate study also identified the illegal trade of primates as one of the drivers to their extinction. The UK remains committed to playing a leading role in tackling illegal wildlife trade (IWT) and working with our international partners to bring about its end. In the run-up to the Hanoi IWT conference in November 2016, the UK Government ran an online campaign to raise awareness of the threat of IWT, highlighting the damage it does globally, that it is moving many species towards extinction, and alerting the public to the fact that it is a crime. At the conference, the Government announced an additional £13 million to new measures tackling IWT around the world, doubling its investment.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government (1) by how much funding to UK National Parks has been cut since 2010, (2) what is the future impact of decreased budgets on National Parks, and what assessments have been made of this, and (3) whether funding in 2020 will equal or exceed 2010 levels.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Between 2010 and 2015 the national parks saw a reduction in budget of 8.9%, considerably lower than the overall reductions in budgets across Defra. We are committed to helping national park authorities thrive, which is why we have protected their budgets during the current spending review to 2020. We have committed over £350 million for English national parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty and public forests. This reflects the value we see in these protected landscapes and the strong support they receive from Defra.
The current Spending Review runs until 2019/20 so we are unable to confirm what funding will be allocated to national parks beyond 2020. Nor has Government made any assessment of any future impact on decreased budgets - this will be for the national park authorities to make themselves. It will be for the next Government to decide what funding should go to national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty for 2020/21 onwards.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to raise awareness of the rapid decline in the UK hedgehog population and the reasons for this decline.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government is concerned about the decline of the hedgehog. The reasons for their decline are complex and include agricultural practices (including loss of hedgerows), use of pesticides, reducing availability of food, roads, a lack of available shelter in urban areas, restriction of movement and badgers that predate on hedgehogs and compete for their food.
We support efforts to make our gardens more hedgehog friendly through the creation of hedgehog havens and campaigns encouraging local communities to work together to look out for hedgehogs and make gardens as welcoming as possible.
Working with the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and People’s Trust for Endangered Species, earlier this year the Government published advice for homeowners in the form of five simple steps to make gardens more hedgehog friendly, from letting grassy areas grow wild to providing food and shelter.
More recently, information has been available through social media on how people can help hedgehogs during autumn.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to prevent the decline in the population of hazel dormice in the UK and to support dormice research projects.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government is taking action to tackle the decline of the common or hazel dormouse, a European Protected Species. This includes Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme targeted at species in rapid decline or at greatest risk of extinction.
Natural England works closely with the People’s Trust for Endangered Species providing funding for the national dormice monitoring scheme and re-introduction projects such as the re-introduction this summer of 38 dormice in woodland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Agri-environment and woodland schemes such as Environmental Stewardship and now Countryside Stewardship fund the provision of habitats, for instance the management of grassland, the conservation and enhancement of hedgerow systems and the creation and maintenance of field margins, which encourage a range of species, including the hazel dormouse.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to protect the UK's bee population against the invasive and predatory Asian hornet (<i>Vespa velutina</i>).
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
A contingency plan outlining the Government’s response against the Asian hornet is in place. The emergency measures it sets out are tested twice a year by the National Bee Unit (NBU) ensuring that all field inspectors and support staff are trained in how to respond should an outbreak occur.
Following a confirmed sighting of the Asian hornet in Gloucestershire, the NBU enacted our established biosecurity protocols to confirm the scale of the outbreak and eradicate the pest. A single nest was located and destroyed. To date, no more live hornets have been seen in this area.
The outbreak follows on from a policy review in 2013 whereby the NBU increased the number of risk-based exotic pest inspections it carries out each year. These are targeted at early interception of non-native invasive species such as the Asian hornet. NBU Bee Inspectors also routinely provide advice and training to beekeepers to raise awareness of the threat and the need for vigilance.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to increase the population of endangered Suffolk Punch horses and to ensure that the breed does not become extinct.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Suffolk Punch is currently listed in the register of UK Native Breeds at Risk, eligible for support under the Rural Development Programme for England agri-environment schemes, and the UK Breeds at Risk register for breeds that may be exempted from precautionary culling in the event of an exotic notifiable disease outbreak.
Defra published the first UK Farm Animal Genetic Resources Breed Inventory in 2002, and updates the population data for breeds that are resident in the UK at regular intervals. For the past three years Suffolk Punch population figures have been updated annually. Although the latest pedigree female registration figures (2015) are lower than those for previous years, breed populations are known to fluctuate from year to year, and the highest number of female registrations in over ten years was recorded in 2013.