Biodiversity

Baroness Quin Excerpts

Wednesday 28th July 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Quin]

My Lords, I, too, congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Miller, on introducing this subject and, indeed, on the informed and committed way in which she approached it. The Minister might concur with me that sometimes, when speaking from either the Government or Opposition Front Bench, one finds oneself speaking on issues with which one has not had a long involvement. Fortunately, the subject raised by the noble Baroness is one dear to my own heart and one which I have certainly pursued from both the Back Benches and the Front Benches—in both Houses, indeed.

I believe, as the noble Baroness said, that this debate is very timely, particularly given the publication of the Government’s natural environment discussion paper. Indeed, the Minister might even consider this debate as an early submission to the Government for that exercise. I certainly hope that the discussion paper will generate a lot of interest widely. We welcome the commitment to a White Paper; indeed, that commitment was in the now Opposition’s manifesto at the time of the last election. The debate is perhaps also timely, as the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, said, because we are beginning the Recess, a time when it is hoped that Members of both Houses can get out into our countryside and appreciate our biodiversity. I do not know whether people will feel optimistic or pessimistic as a result, as the debate has wavered in both directions. Perhaps we can all agree that we wish the noble Earl well with his butterfly count over the summer.

I believe that the concern which has been expressed today very much chimes in with wider public concern on this issue. Surveys show that very high percentages of the public worry about the changes to our countryside and the loss of native plants and animals. Indeed, that concern chimes in very much with local and regional identities; for that reason, I was pleased with what the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Blackburn told us, in relating this subject very much to his local area and diocese. The concern is also reflected at international level. Not surprisingly, the fact that it is the international year of biodiversity has been mentioned. On that, I simply repeat that we cannot preach biodiversity abroad if we are failing to protect and enhance it at home.

There is a clear link, which we all appreciate, between the quality of the natural environment and the quality of life and a general sense of well-being. Indeed, that point was made clearly in the State of the Countryside 2010 report, recently published by the Commission for Rural Communities. There is also an economic benefit. Certainly, the report of The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity project makes the point strongly that the natural environment has economic value and contributes to economic growth, while its loss has high economic costs. In introducing this subject, the noble Baroness recognised that efforts have been made on a cross-party basis to try to promote and enhance biodiversity. She was also right to stress that, despite the concern and the welcome initiatives, there are a number of issues which it will be very important to address in the near future if we really are to tackle this issue effectively.

The role of agriculture and farming is obviously important here; changing farming practices have had a significant effect on our natural environment. Indeed, I first became interested in this subject when I was a student in the 1960s, at a time when hedges first started to disappear rapidly. It is an irony that grants were being given then for hedges to be grubbed up and that they are being given now to replace them. None the less, despite that fact, there is still something of a loss of hedgerows in our country that needs to be addressed.

There has been progress, as many Members have pointed out today. Farmers are generally much more environmentally sensitive than they used to be, and I recognise that. Although the cynical might say that that is just because they get grants, I do not believe that that is true at all. Farmers, like the whole of society, have become much more environmentally conscious. Indeed, farmers that I know take a great deal of pride in protecting and enjoying the biodiversities and habitats that they are able to create. Like the noble Baroness, Lady Byford, I pay tribute to the Campaign for the Farmed Environment, which I hope continues to attract strong government support in the coming months and years. However, there is a very worrying list of endangered species, of which we are all very much aware. The noble Baroness, Lady Young, rightly referred to the work, with which she is very familiar, of the British Trust for Ornithology, whose recent report charts a very worrying decline in precious bird species that are very integral to our countryside, such as skylarks, yellowhammers and grey partridges. Even familiar species such as the cuckoo and the house sparrow are in trouble. These are important issues. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has a current effort to try to reverse the decline in turtle doves, which has experienced an 88 per cent decline since 1970. I applaud the RSPB’s efforts in working with Natural England and a group of farmers to tackle that issue.

In practically every speech that I make on this subject, I mention red squirrels in Northumberland. Therefore, I do not apologise for doing so again. I hope that the efforts of local people in seeking to ensure that Northumberland can remain a red squirrel county can be supported by the Government and that investigations are made to see what buffer zones can be created between the red and grey areas, which is very important for all of us.

International action continues to be important, although I recognise that the noble Baroness’s debate is essentially about the situation in the United Kingdom. Even some of the species that we think of very much as British depend also on international efforts because of migration patterns. Therefore, the work in that sphere continues to be terribly important. Fishing, which was mentioned by the noble Baroness, Lady Young, is also tremendously important in that sense; European as well as international regulations are so important in that area.

Like the noble Baroness, Lady Young, I am concerned about the possible effect of cuts on environmental grants in particular. Following our most recent debate on the uplands, I wrote to the Minister’s colleague, the noble Lord, Lord Henley, about this. I know that these areas of spending are not ring-fenced, so some reassurance about spending levels on environmental schemes is important for us. On another point that was mentioned, if we continue to give money for these schemes, as I hope we do, perhaps better checks could be put in place in future on the results of these schemes. If money is used in this way—and I very much hope that it will be—it is important that we should none the less know whether progress is being made and that gains are not being reversed.

I wish that the Government were not cutting themselves off from independent sources of advice such as the Commission for Rural Communities and the Sustainable Development Commission and the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution. The Government themselves need an independent check, in many ways, and I urge the Minister to reconsider some of these decisions.

As I have run out of time, I conclude by saying that government action in this area is vital. However, concern on this issue unites urban and country dwellers alike in our nation. It is an important issue for the future and for our future quality of life, and for that reason I hope that this House will continue to promote the subject regularly and determinedly.