I live in a big village in east Northants that thinks it’s a town, and maybe it is. We number about 8000 inhabitants and I don’t get the impression that the government is particularly worried about what we all think of what they are going to do (although the fact that we are having a…
Category: MARINE PROTECTION
Wet plastic
I’ve only recently, this year, become aware of some of the facts about plastic in the oceans. Plastic Oceans is a good source of some information but here are some other links too (here, here, here, here, here). It’s sad to see that even the remote Southern Ocean has high levels of plastic, tiny pieces…
Give oceans real protection – everyone gains
More than two thirds of the Earth’s surface is ocean and yet we give it barely a thought, at least according to a recent poll by KnowSeas which shows that only a third of UK citizens are worried by ocean health whereas around 60% of Portuguese and Spaniards have the oceans on their minds. Might…
No worries, mate! Australia grabs headlines over marine reserves and UK says nothing.
I’m a bit surprised that we haven’t heard any great announcement from the UK ahead of the Rio conference. Often good news stories are squirrelled away to be produced (to mix analogies) like rabbits out of hats for maximum effect. This must have been what the Australian government had in mind when making a recent…
Letter from Defra
I am grateful to Defra Minister Richard Benyon for this reply to a letter which my MP, Louise Mensch, sent to him on 15 December concerning implementation of the EU Birds Directive. The letter asked about farmland birds, hen harriers and marine protected areas. The Minister’s civil servants have written him quite a detailed reply…
What’s behind it?
It’ll be a while, no doubt, before the Treasury Minister, Chloe Smith replies to my MP, Louise Mensch, to tell me the basis of the Chancellor‘s decision to review the Habitat Regulations that he announced, with (it seemed to me) a certain degree of vindictive delight, in his Autumn Statement. At the moment I can…
Lots of stuff!
I was pleased to see that in Martin Harper’s blog yesterday (which is always worth reading after you’ve read this one) that Martin encouraged RSPB members to sign up to the epetition on vicarious liability. I expect that the RSPB will give this a bigger push in the New Year and I will let you…
November was the cruellest month…
November was a dismal month for nature in our country – just dismal. This week the Westminster government issued figures showing that farmland birds were at an all time low but didn’t bother to comment on what they might do about it. The Chancellor had a swipe at the environment and announced a review of…
Defra – dire, egregious, failing, risible and adrift.
It’s more than 18 months since the current ministers walked confidently into Defra’s headquarters at Nobel House after the May 2010 General Election (with one change of Lord in the interim). I’m glad that we have not seen too much chopping and changing of ministers under the Cameron (Clegg) coalition government, as that rarely leads…
Dogger Bank – I wonder what is happening
This blog has raised the plight of the Dogger Bank in the past. That started with a Defra announcement of the listing of the UK portion of the Dogger Bank as a Special Area of Conservation under the EU Habitats Directive a couple of months ago. Regular readers may recall that after the proud announcement…