foe%gn@cdp.uucp (10/04/89)
/* Written 4:59 pm Oct 3, 1989 by gn:foe in cdp:foe.press */
/* ---------- "GOVERNMENT AXE ON NCC" ---------- */
BAD NEWS FOR WILDLIFE OR WHY THE GOVERNMENT AXE IS FALLING ON THE
NCC
Documents leaked to Friends of the Earth reveal that the Nature
Conservancy Council(NCC) has been forced to scrap 80% of staff
posts which fall vacant, despite having repeatedly missed its own
targets for renotification of key wildlife sites, which although
Sites of Special Scientific Interest(SSSI) are virtually
unprotected [Note 1].
The documents show that the NCC has been forced to give reduced
priority to the protection of potential SSSIs(See attached letter
3) and "low priority" to the protection of river SSSIs and "other
large sites..". Instead, it is concentrating on:
* Sites in the Flow Country, threatened by afforestation, thus
challenging vested interests [Note 2].
* Estuaries, most of which are the subject of port development or
barrage schemes [Note 3].
* Sites "under immediate threat due to 'development' pressures".
COUNTDOWN TO THE CUTS
* December 1988 - Budget cuts force NCC to set "Priorities for
renotification and notification of SSSIs". NCC choses areas where
major conflicts exist with powerful, vested interests.
* July 1989 - Nicholas Ridley announces proposed dismemberment of
NCC into 3 weakened, regional divisions.
* August 1989 - NCC document states that 80% of "all
posts(permanent and non-permanent) which fall vacant will not be
refilled." Yet the targets set for renotifying wildlife sites
have been missed time and time again(See Table 1).
* September 1989 - Chris Patten, the bright new 'green' minister
at the Dept. of the Environment, confirmed that the Government
still intends to 'split' the NCC. The measures will be part of
the 'Green Bill'.
TABLE 1 - MISSED TARGETS
Since 1987 the NCC has failed to achieve its set targets for SSSI
renotifications in England, Wales and Scotland, as shown below.
Total UK SSSI renotifications(NCC Data)
1987/88 1988/89
Target 94% 98% Achieved 86%
92%
337 sites remain to be renotified and therefore are vulnerable to
damage.
Clearly, the NCC needs MORE STAFF and MORE MONEY to meet its
targets. Yet the Government is offering the exact opposite, with
predictable results.
PHOTOCOPIES OF RELEVANT DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
1. Paper from Ian Dair, Assistant Director(Conservation Policy),
dated December 1988. This reveals the new priorities for
renotification. Paragraph 1 highlights the failure to meet the
set % yearly targets for renotifications.
2. Letter from Timothy Hornsby, Director General NCC, dated 10
August 1989. Paragraphs 4/5 shows that the NCC is subject to a
"rigorous" budget and this has forced an 80% cut in
recruitment.
3. Letter from NCC Assistant Regional Officer to Local Friends of
the Earth group. What the staff and budget cuts mean in
practice. Habitats that should be designated as SSSIs are being
left without legal protection.
Robin Maynard, FoE's Countryside and Agriculture Campaigner
said,
"The leaked documents reveal a crisis in nature conservation -
too little money, too few resources and as ever, vested interest
before wildlife interest. The NCC should not be decapitated to
appease forestry and landowning interests who resent conservation
controls. We have asked the Prime Minister, who in a recent
speech to the Inter- Parliamentary Union expressed a commitment
to nature conservation, to intervene."[Note 4]
Notes to Editors
1. SSSIs originally notified under the National Parks & Access to
the Countryside Act 1949 - SSSIs first notified under this Act
have no legal protection. 1949 sites due for renotification under
the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act, which don't meet the new
priorities are particularly vulnerable to destruction.
2. The FLOW COUNTRY (parts of Caithness and Sutherland, Scotland)
- internationally important wetland habitats being destroyed by
blanket forestry.
3. ESTUARIES - threatened by development schemes - barrages, dock
extensions, marinas, etc. Two-thirds of our 150 estuaries are
under threat from various kinds of development proposals.
4. Mrs Thatcher's speech to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, 6
September 1989
"We have made great efforts to identify areas of special
scientific interest because of their animal and plant life and
others which are environmentally sensitive and we have taken
steps to protect them."
For further information contact: Robin Maynard, Friends of the
Earth: 01 251 0970/01 490 1555/01 408 2403
Pete Riley, Vale of Evesham Friends of the Earth: 0386 446524
Nature Conservancy Council HQ: 0733 40345
---
Patt Haring | United Nations | FAX: 212-787-1726
patth@sci.ccny.cuny.edu | Information | BBS: 201-795-0733
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