Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to increase biodiversity in (a) London and (b) the South East.

The Government has implemented a range of measures to both protect and increase biodiversity across the country. In London 6,000 hectares have been designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), with some 141,000 hectares designated as SSSI across the south east. These protected sites host habitats and species of international importance for wildlife conservation. Examples include Walthamstow Reservoirs SSSI which is Europe’s largest urban wetland, and the New Forest, the largest area of semi-natural habitat in England covering 29,000 hectares of heathland, grassland and ancient woodland.

We provide substantial public funding for increasing biodiversity, spending £2.9 billion on agri-environment schemes in England through our seven year Rural Development Programme. Schemes are tailored to the specific biodiversity interests in London and the south east through our local targeting statements. In London priorities include wood pasture and parkland as well as wetland habitats such as reedbeds. In the south east there are a number of statements reflecting the diverse landscapes of the region including the heathlands of the Thames Basin, chalk grasslands of the North Downs and South Downs and wetlands of the Kent coast.

The Government also supports a range of partnership activities. For example in London, at Walthamstow, Natural England has worked closely with a range of partners over ten years on a partnership project to expand wetlands and open them to the public. In the south east, Natural England is working with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, the RSPB and over 100 farmers and landowners to reintroduce the short-haired bumblebee to Dungeness. The success of the project in creating extensive, wildflower-rich habitat has led to the recording of rare bee species in areas where they have not been seen for 40 years.