Biodiversity

Lord De Mauley Excerpts

Wednesday 28th July 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, like other noble Lords, I congratulate my noble friend Lady Miller of Chilthorne Domer on securing this debate. Her timing is excellent. As she mentioned, 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity and in October my right honourable friend the Secretary of State will be leading the UK delegation to the conference of the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya to negotiate demanding new global targets for halting biodiversity loss. We must underpin that international commitment with national action. I confirm the coalition Government’s strong support for that process.

I declare a personal interest as a farmer and landowner who is directly involved as a small cog in this large wheel and a keen participant in fostering biodiversity. Like my noble friend Lord Teverson, I enjoy seeing the buzzards that are now regularly to be seen wheeling around above the trees, just as I enjoy listening to the larks that my noble friend the Duke of Montrose mentioned.

The meeting in Nagoya represents a critical moment in the history of the convention and, indeed, of humanity. We need to consider biodiversity not just in its own context but, as several noble Lords said, in the context of the fight against climate change. As my noble friend Lord Selborne said, we must also factor in the value of ecosystem services to our development and accounting processes, as well as the contribution that they make to our quality of life by inspiring and enriching our lives and contributing to our health and well-being.

As my noble friend Lord Teverson said, only by taking such a holistic approach across biodiversity, climate change and development can we hope to overcome the unique challenges that we face. The importance of this is highlighted by the fact that, despite some successes, biodiversity loss has not been halted in recent years, as, among others, the noble Baroness, Lady Young of Old Scone, said.

The commitments that the Secretary of State will make in Nagoya will be on behalf of the United Kingdom as a whole. Action to conserve biodiversity is of course a devolved matter, but it is one on which we keep in close contact with our devolved counterparts, ensuring that the commitments that we make, and our capabilities and appetites for delivering them, remain in step.

This debate is also timely because on Monday the Government launched their consultation on the natural environment White Paper, demonstrating our commitment to protect and enhance the natural environment. It is through this process that we will be developing an ambitious statement by April next year outlining our priorities and setting out a framework for practical action by government, communities, businesses and civil society organisations to deliver on that commitment. My noble friend Lord Teverson asked about our approach to climate change. Climate change will be a theme that runs right through that White Paper.

Of course, the way in which we deliver on our commitments will take its place within the context of our overall requirement to reduce the deficit and reflect the Government’s plans for reducing regulatory burdens. We also know, however, that we can no longer afford the costs to our economy and quality of life that arise from a degraded natural environment. Despite our growing knowledge of the real value of that natural environment, and the significant improvements made in some areas over the last 20 years, it faces major challenges. For years, as my noble friend Lady Byford said, the economy and the natural environment have been pitted against each other, as if they were competing choices rather than mutually interdependent.

For too long, we have been content just to try to limit the damage, yet globally it is estimated that the degradation of our planet’s ecosystems is costing us €50 billion each year, a figure that could rise to the equivalent of 7 per cent of global GDP by 2050. We are choosing to lose the valuable benefits of a healthy natural environment on a massive scale. A vibrant natural environment is not a luxury for the good times; it is a necessity for economic recovery and sustainable growth for the long term. We have the opportunity to be the generation that puts this right. It will take an ambitious and radical transformation in our economy and our society and in securing our future, but the prize is worth it and essential for our well-being. We must grow a leaner, greener economy which properly reflects the true value of nature’s services in the way that it works in its prices and markets, which prevents the costs of environmental degradation and, indeed, which opens up new business opportunities and creates new jobs.

In line with our commitment to shifting the balance of power from big government to what we are calling the big society, as my noble friend Lord Selborne said, we want to work closely with all the interested parties—individuals, businesses, churches, civil society groups, land managers and local authorities—to articulate a new, compelling and integrated vision and set out an action plan for sustaining and managing our natural environment. Therefore, the positive comments from all sides of the House today, which amply demonstrate the keenness of society as a whole to get involved, are very welcome. I also pay tribute to the thousands of volunteers who do conservation work, including the butterfly count of which my noble friend Lord Selborne will do his share this evening, if I do not take too long winding up.

We will do everything that we can to support this vital wider transformation. The coalition’s programme for government already sets out a range of commitments to protect and enhance the natural environment, including: maintaining the green belt, SSSIs—about which the noble Baroness, Lady Young of Old Scone, asked—and other environmental protections; creating a new designation to protect green areas of particular importance to local communities; introducing measures to protect wildlife; promoting green spaces and wildlife corridors to halt the loss of habitats and restore biodiversity; giving councils new powers to stop garden grabbing, recognising that domestic gardens can offer some of the best habitat for our wildlife, as my noble friend Lord Selborne said; and launching a national campaign to increase tree planting by the private sector and civil society. I declare a personal interest, having embarked on a major tree-planting exercise six years ago. We will also be assessing the scope for action to offset the impact of development on biodiversity. As part of this assessment, we will consider what we can learn from the experiences of other countries.

With restoring and expanding priority habitats in mind, as my noble friend Lady Miller said, we are looking forward to receiving Sir John Lawton’s report of the review on the coherence of ecological networks, Making Space for Nature, later in the summer. My noble friend Lord Teverson asked about adaptation. The Lawton review will provide evidence on which we can build our work on adaptation to climate change. In March, Sir John reported that to achieve a coherent and resilient ecological network we will need to look beyond existing designated sites and take account of landscape designations, local wildlife sites and green spaces. This work will help to inform the development of the natural environment White Paper.

Protecting marine biodiversity, while enabling the sustainable use of marine resources, is also a priority. As we are an island, our marine resources are central to our economic and social well-being. We are committed to managing them in a manner that supports current users but leaves them in a better state for future generations. To achieve this, we are dedicated to a comprehensive marine biodiversity programme which, given the economic climate, has to be focused on priority areas. Our aim is to achieve clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse seas and oceans. To do this, our priorities are to reform the common fisheries policy, to deliver an ecologically coherent network of marine protected areas and to reduce by-catch and discards of species in fishing activities. We will lead by example and put the value of our natural environment at the heart of government policy-making.

I turn to some of the specific points made during our debate. My noble friend Lady Miller asked about our commitment to and preparations for Nagoya. The Secretary of State’s personal commitment is clearly demonstrated by her decision to attend in October. She is also involved in a number of preparatory meetings and has already met EU ministerial colleagues and the Japanese Minister this month, as well as Pavan Sukhdev, the leader of the TEEB study, which will be one of the main items discussed at Nagoya.

My noble friend also asked about progress regarding MPAs in the marine context. We will establish an ecologically coherent network of MPAs that will ensure that the range of species and habitats in our waters is protected; 154 marine sites have already been designated and 15 sites are being considered for submission to the European Commission. Further sites will be brought forward. The Government will establish a monitoring programme so that we know whether the network of European MPAs and MCZs is achieving our objectives.

The noble Baroness, Lady Young of Old Scone, asked about our more general approach to the marine environment. Marine issues will be covered by the natural environment White Paper. The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 established a forward-looking approach to managing marine activities. It created a streamlined licensing system, a new system of marine planning, the Marine Management Organisation and marine conservation zones. MCZs will conserve marine species, habitats and features. The White Paper presents an opportunity to build on that.

My noble friend Lady Miller asked about the coalition Government’s attitude to the concept of the outdoor classroom, and the right reverend Prelate spoke of the importance of young people understanding biodiversity. The Environmental Stewardship Scheme—I declare an interest as a participant in the ELS scheme—has been part of an initiative which has contributed to supporting nearly 800 farms in England offering educational access visits by schools, involving more than 100,000 children a year. The Young Darwin Prize, a competition for the best nature news videos, is another example of Defra’s involvement in encouraging young people to conserve nature and communicating the importance of biodiversity. While still on the subject of young people, I am please to hear from the right reverend Prelate about the success of BioBlitz. More than 20 events are taking place around the country this year, following the successful pilot in Bristol last year.

My noble friend Lady Miller asked about the intergovernmental panel on biodiversity and ecosystems, which is an initiative that we welcome.

Several noble Lords asked about the Government's approach to the economic situation, and how we will reconcile that with our aspirations for biodiversity. Deficit reduction and ensuring economic recovery are the Government's top priorities, but we also know that we can no longer afford the costs to our economy and quality of life that arise from a degraded natural environment. The whole economy relies on a healthy natural environment. Our businesses and industries rely on it for resources and material, and all sectors can save money by using resources more efficiently. Noble Lords have asked a number of other questions that I do not have time to answer today. I will write to them after today's debate.

I conclude by saying that the process that we have started to develop with our White Paper on the natural environment is an open invitation to all interested parties to help inform and influence the Government's plan of action for conserving and enhancing the natural environment. The Government, communities, businesses and civil society organisations can all contribute. We look forward to welcoming contributions from far and wide.

House adjourned at 3.29 pm.