Last week the biodiversity (and many other things) Minister, Richard Benyon, was quoted on the matter of the recovering bittern population.
The Minister said “To see a species that was once extinct in the UK rise to a population of over one hundred is a real achievement. This is largely down to the work of the RSPB and Natural England, and shows what can be achieved if we work together. This partnership work is vital as we work to meet the commitments set out in the Natural Environment White Paper and the England Biodiversity Strategy.”.
I like Mr Benyon personally, and believe that he wants the best for the natural environment. As an ex-soldier, I’m sure he will have noticed that the coalition government (where are the Liberal Democrats these days by the way?) made the first cuts in armed service personnel last week – around 2000 jobs of an eventual 20,000 job losses out of a total complement of over 200,000 servicement (140k Army, 40k RAF and 35k Royal Navy). Concerns have been expressed over whether this level of cut will prejudice the UK’s ability to respond to threats (although we do have the fourth largest Defence Budget of any country on Earth apparently).
I understand that Natural England have made most of the initial cuts in their troops at the instruction of Mr Benyon and his fellow Ministers. The cuts applying to the troops fighting the loss of biodiversity in the countryside are around 30% – which is what the Treasury applied to Defra as a whole in the Comprehensive Spending Review of nearly a year ago. NE have lost around 400 of an eventual 800 staff from their c2,500 total staff.
We are all in this together but it always seems as though our wildlife – the plants, insects, fish, birds and mamals that enrich our lives and share our planet – get the thick end of cuts and the thin end of help.
Natural England will be a weaker partner in conservation work if it does not have the resources to bring to the table and that will affect the ability of NGOs like the RSPB, Plantlife, Butterfly Conservation, Buglife and a host of others who collaborate with NE, and as a result do real conservation work, to deliver such success stories as that represented by the bittern. So it was wise of the Minister to praise the collaborative working between the RSPB and Natural England (and others actually) – not just because it is a success story that deserves praise but also because there may be fewer such stories in the future.
This is Small Government in practice. Perhaps such cuts are inevitable because of past folly. But it was the folly of the bankers not of the bank vole or other wildlife.
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Well said Mark. it seems as though the cuts of staff are about 10% for fighting and destroying and nearly a third, 32%, for conserving and preserving. Few would claim that a reasonable army, navy and airforce are not needed for this country, but at a time when the need to preserve this planet and all its biodiversity is, inexorably, becoming more and more desperate, it seems a very peculiar balance of priorities. Once again Mr. Osborne seems to demonstrate his very questionable approach. As you say, Mark,where are the Lib Dems to provide a better balance.
If only Natural England did their job! It is nothing to do with cuts but the lack of leadership by Natural England. Large scale damage to SSSIs, Spa etc by moorland owners are praised by the leadership. Of course i am talking about mass road building for use in only a couple of weeks of the year just because the lazy s**s can not walk. No prosecutions to date. A quote from the BBC from yesterdays programme on Alaska ‘we are loosing our wilderness’. These roads are nothing but a disaster. So what on job cuts. Are the leaders going as well!!
John – which side of the bed did you leave this morning? As I recall, NE did indeed lose several senior posts last year -so yes, the leaders are going as well. And before the troops, and in higher proportions.
Mark – an interesting analagy to compare Natural England [NE] cuts to Armed Services cuts. They are not comparable. The Armed Services do a great job. They do as they are bidden by politicians without complaint [even when the degree of overstretch is clear, even to blind politicians]. Many die or are maimed on our behalf. NE’s track record does not even begin to compare. They have been SSSI centric for far too long; they have always had very few staff who really understand farming or farmers. You credit NE with success in the fight against biodiversity loss. For the cost of 2500 staff, their success is barely measurable. I very much doubt that there will be significantly less success, when the whole 800 are gone. It is interesting that when the leaders were culled, those left behind had little ‘in depth’ understanding of the countryside. I think your conclusions are flawed. If the NGO’s and the slimmer NE actually produce practical workable actions for farmers and land managers, which are outcome led, then wildlife and biodiversity in the countryside will be enhanced not weakened. If they can influence the RPA’s attitude as well, even more progress could be made.
Birdseye – we disagree, but you are quite tolerant of my views and I try to reciprocate. Thank you.