Standing up for Nature
Dear Anglian Water, I’m a customer of yours. Each year you send me a new bill for the year ahead and I glance at it, shrug, and you collect my money by direct debit. This year, you and I are going to have a little chat about that bill because I will be looking at…
There has been a certain amount of interest in the government’s proposals to opt out of protections for water bodies this week. Quite a lot of the interest has been because of a tweet (see above) put out by the RSPB, or part of the RSPB, or at least someone in the RSPB, but we’ll…
An announcement by the government of Iceland https://www.mbl.is/200milur/frettir/2023/06/19/alraemdur_hvalveidaandstaedingur_maetir_a_islandsmi/ The whaling season for Fin Whales was going to open tomorrow but is now closed until 1 September – and let’s see what happens then. Icelandic media coverage of Sea Shepherd’s Paul Watson https://www.mbl.is/200milur/frettir/2023/06/19/alraemdur_hvalveidaandstaedingur_maetir_a_islandsmi/
The Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST) believes that the killing of many whales in Icelandic waters during last year’s whaling season did not comply with the objectives of Iceland’s Animal Welfare Act. The headline in the Icelandic newspaper, Morgunbladid, reads ‘Whaling is inconsistent with animal welfare objectives’, In summary: 148 whales were killed; 38…
In the previous blog post I looked at my Birdtrack records – clearly birding records – to explore in more detail my carbon footprint from birding. But that was all about my UK birding. Here I’m looking at another aspect of my carbon emissions – my air travel. And I can examine my air travel…
Reading and reviewing (click here) the new book, Low -carbon birding, and particularly the contribution from Nick Moran, made me review my Birdtrack records to reflect on my travel as a birder in the UK. Birdtrack (click here) is a way of keeping your bird sightings in one place where they can be reviewed and…
It’s somewhat ironic that a few weeks after the Labour Party said it was dropping its policy to renationalise water utilities the idea is gaining more currency in public debate. On Today this morning, at around 08:23, Baroness Young, a Labour peer, was asked about the idea and sounded somewhat sceptical and on PM this…
Peatland restoration value hits £470m, outpacing grouse shooting as an income source for landowners A new analysis has shown that trading carbon by restoring upland peatlands could be worth more than four times the economic value of grouse shooting. Amidst reports that grouse moors may face another uncertain season, new market analysis released by Terra…
The first Fin Whales (two of them) to be landed in Iceland since 2018 were brought ashore yesterday morning. The total quota is 193 whales – 161 for this year plus some extra as there were no whales killed last year. See article here with quite a lot of pictures.
Dominic Woodfield is the Managing Director of Bioscan, a long established and well-respected consultancy specialising in applied ecology. He is a life-long birder, a specialist in botany, habitat restoration and creation and in protected fauna including bats, herpetofauna and other species. He is also a highly experienced practitioner in Environmental Impact Assessment and Habitats…