The Countryside Survey, published every ten years, shows that overall countryside quality is getting worse and valuable wildlife habitats are becoming seriously degraded. The full Countryside Survey report, published this week, presents an authoritative picture of the worrying state of the British countryside.
But key environmental groups are alarmed that the Government appears to be unaware of the urgency of the problem.
Tom Oliver Head of Rural Policy at the Campaign to Protect Rural England said ‘Just about the only significant wildlife gain in farmland has been in arable fields. Much of this gain could be threatened by the abolition of set-aside announced yesterday by the EU Commission. This clearly shows that the countryside is crying out for constructive management and far more resources are needed to manage the landscape effectively’.
Dr Jeremy Biggs, Pond Conservation Director Policy and Research said ‘Many of the key results from this study are hidden in the detail and have pretty much gone un-noticed. This information is vital because it tells us how we can protect wildlife and the countryside.’
Miles King, Conservation Manager at The Grasslands Trust said ‘Wildlife-rich grasslands are continuing to disappear from the countryside. Small wildflower meadows and patches of chalk downland are at particular risk and need protecting from the twin perils of abandonment and intensive agriculture. Agricultural subsidies need directing towards saving these jewels of the countryside'.
The key conclusion from these first results of the Countryside Survey is that a substantial increase in resources is needed if farmland is to improve for wildlife. The alternative is a steady polarising of farmland into that which excludes most wildlife through intensive farming on the one hand, and habitat loss through lack of management on the other.
ENDS
Press Release issued by Pond Conservation, Campaign to Protect Rural England and The Grassland Trust on Friday 21 November
Contacts:
Campaign to Protect Rural England
Tom Oliver, Head of Rural Policy tomo@cpre.org.uk 0207 981 2838
Pond Conservation
Ruth Welters, Communications Manager 01865 483114 ruthwelters@pondconservation.org.uk
Dr Jeremy Biggs, Director Policy and Research 01865 483608 jbiggs@pondconservation.org.uk
The Grassland Trust
Miles King, Conservation Manager (South)
miles.king@grasslands-trust.org
02380 650093
NOTES TO EDITORS
You can download the full report on www.countrysidesurvey.org.uk
Important facts NOT highlighted in the Countryside Survey executive summary:
Ponds
1. Ponds have declined in quality. Lowland ponds have lost almost a quarter of their plant species in the last 10 years.
2. Around 80% of Britain’s ponds are now in Poor or Very Poor condition.
Grassland
1. There has been a worrying decline in our most valuable flower-rich meadows. In general, grasses have expanded at the expense of wild flowers (Chapter 4 of report, p41onwards in semi-natural grasslands).
2. The number of plant species, used by farmland birds and butterfly caterpillars as food, has also declined. The report says this “shows that these refuges have not just deteriorated for pants but possibly for animals too”.
3. This same pattern of loss was shown in our upland grasslands (an area that covers 7% of the UK); the drop was particularly bad in Scotland.
Bogs
1. Plant species richness in the Bog Broad Habitat (this habitat covers 10% of the UK) decreased between 1998 and 2007 in Great Britain, including loss of food plants for butterfly caterpillars.
2. For the Fen, Marsh and Swamp Broad habitat (which is especially important for wildlife) the report says 'as a whole, the results suggest deterioration in condition in the Fen, Marsh and Swamp Broad Habitat between 1990 and 2007'.
Trees, hedges and walls
1. The total length of woody linear features (that is, hedges) decreased by 1.7% in Great Britain between 1998 and 2007 following an increase between 1990 and 1998 and a decrease between 1984 and 1990.
2. Species richness in vegetation associated with all types of landscape boundaries in Great Britain decreased by 4.0% between 1998 and 2007 and by 14.6% between 1978 and 2007. There are fewer plant species found growing alongside hedges, ditches, stone walls and fences.
3. No change was detected in species richness in Broadleaved Woodland in Great Britain between 1998 and 2007, but there was a longer-term decrease of 9.3% between 1990 and 2007.
