Flowers: Conservation

(asked on 15th July 2019) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage wildflower meadows throughout the country.


Answered by
Thérèse Coffey Portrait
Thérèse Coffey
This question was answered on 18th July 2019

We are taking action to encourage wildflower meadows by managing designated sites, providing incentives for habitat management and creation, and forging strong partnerships with landowners, communities and conservation bodies.

Our agri-environment schemes provide incentives for creation and management of wildlife-rich habitat, including meadows. Since 2011, we have initiated creation of over 130,000 hectares of wildlife rich habitat, including wildflower meadows. Our new Environmental Land Management scheme will reward farmers and land managers for delivering environmental outcomes such as conserving and restoring such habitats.

Our Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) provide protection for approximately two thirds of the total extent of 110,000 ha of semi-natural grassland Priority Habitat in England. Natural England’s 2018-19 SSSI designation programme identifies a further 12 sites containing important wildflower-rich grasslands. The 25 Year Environment Plan commits us to restoring 75% of SSSI areas to good condition.

We work with partners to support the recovery of threatened species and their habitats. For example, Natural England are working with landowners and conservation organisations on the Back from the Brink programme including on the ‘Limestone’s Living Legacies’ project, restoring a network of limestone grassland sites in the West Midlands.

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