Climate Change & Ancient Trees

National news

Climate | The Climate Change Committee has published its annual progress report of the UK’s emission reductions. Its overall verdict is that the current climate programme will not deliver net-zero emissions as promised. Among what chief executive Chris Stark calls “massive flashing red lights” are agriculture and land use, partly because Defra has yet to release its strategy for the sectors. Or, as Stark told Carbon Brief, there is “a giant George Eustice-shaped hole” in the government’s policies. Limited progress has been made in these areas since last year’s progress report, with only one of the 27 recommendations (extending woodland creation) achieved, and a further eight “underway”. The Committee says that the chance to reform the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy is a “once-in-a-generation opportunity”, but it risks being squandered by the lack of progress and detail around the new subsidies. Furthermore, the report highlights that demand for red meat and dairy was not addressed in the government's net-zero strategy nor the recent food strategy, and recommends that the government sets out policies and plans for reducing their consumption. Regarding land use, the Committee says the sector must become a net-sink by the mid 2030s, implying major increases in peatland restoration and annual tree-planting. This is particularly important, they say, because of the time lag before land use changes impact on emissions. Farming UK, the Scotsman and the Shropshire Star all reported on the agriculture angle. The BBC and the Guardian have wider coverage of the report.

Red Kites | Thirty red kite chicks are being transported from England to southwest Spain to boost dwindling numbers on the continent. The translocation project represents a full conservation circle, since red kites were first reintroduced to England almost 35 years ago using birds from Spain. The UK reintroduction proved to be the most successful raptor restoration project in Europe, with an estimated 6,000 breeding pairs now living across Britain. The Spanish population, on the other hand, is now struggling due persecution and lack of food. Natural England has licensed the removal of 30 chicks, with plans to release another 30 in each of the next two years. Dr. Ian Evans of Natural England, who was involved in the original English reintroduction, said that the translocation would “help secure the future of red kites globally, which back in the 1990s was the reason why we made those trips to Spain.” The news was covered by the BBC, the Guardian, the Independent and BirdGuides.  

Habitats | Environment secretary George Eustice wants to amend the Habitats Directive, a key piece of European legislation protecting important habitats in the UK, according to the Guardian. Eustice told MPs on the environmental audit committee that he intended to amend a number of laws, including the Directive, in the upcoming Brexit freedoms bill designed to reduce red tape. The law, he said, is flawed, ambiguous, and unnecessarily bureaucratic, requiring “lots of impact assessments to be drafted”. However, the Habitats Directive supports a network of areas called ‘Natura 2000’ sites, where special habitats receive more protection than the SSSI domestic designations. There are nearly 900 such sites in the UK, and the regulations have been used in multiple cases to win additional protection for British species. Richard Benwell, chief executive of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said that the regulations “remain the most effective protection for nature on the UK statute book, providing a rigorous defence for internationally important wildlife, in a way that gives certainty and confidence to businesses and ecologists alike.”

In other news:

• The proposal for a new coal mine in Cumbria has been branded “absolutely indefensible” by the chair of the Climate Change Committee, reports the BBC.
• Ofwat is investigating South West Water over its treatment of sewage, reports the BBC.
• The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded NatureScot £4.2m to help save 37 of Scotland’s most vulnerable species. The body has also  launched its 30x30 and Nature Network Projects to explore solutions to meeting the Scottish government’s nature recovery targets.
• More than 50% of Scotland’s breeding swift population has disappeared in the last 25 years, reports the Times.
• The UK’s forestry trade body has warned that the government has “zero chance” of reaching its tree planting targets, reports the BBC.
• Terra Motion has published a satellite map which identifies peatland areas where restoration has the greatest carbon impact. Its research also shows that restored upland peatlands could be worth more than four times the economic value of grouse shooting, according to Wild Moors.
• Gamekeepers and landowners are objecting to changes to Wales’ general licences, which now permit only carrion crow to be killed for conservation reasons, reports Farming UK. The British Association for Shooting and Conservation said the move would have a “devastating impact” on at-risk species.

Across the country

Islands | NatureScot is closing the national nature reserves on Isle of May in the Firth of Forth and Noss in Shetland to public landings to help curb the spread of avian flu among seabirds. The two island reserves are home to hundreds of thousands of breeding seabirds, which are vulnerable to the now widespread disease. Bird flu has been confirmed in gannets at Noss, but is yet to be found on the Isle of May. It is hoped that stopping public visits from July 1st will limit the spread of the virus and give colonies a better chance of survival and recovery by reducing additional stressors. Eileen Stuart, NatureScot’s deputy director of nature and climate change, said the decision had not been taken lightly, but had been made to protect Scotland’s precious seabird populations for the future. The BBC and the Scotsman reported the news.

Kinlochleven | Residents of a west Highland village are considering reinstating a planned deer cull because the wild animals are losing their natural wariness of people. A herd of around 20 deer has established itself in Kinlochleven over the last four years, but locals claim they have begun to intimidate the community; one even bit a dog. The plan to kill the deer in January was halted after some villagers argued the community should learn to co-exist with them instead, but the Kinlochleven Community Trust said the relationship has become “unhealthy” for the animals and potentially dangerous for villagers. The Trust is working with NatureScot and the Highland council to find a solution. The Times reported the story. Also in the Times this week, an article explains why soaring deer populations could make venison steaks more affordable.

Yorkshire | The Yorkshire Dales National Park authority is developing a strategy to boost nature recovery in the park, and particularly to increase the number of species living there. The authority is aiming to launch the strategy next year in response to the government’s 25-Year Environment Plan. They held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss various issues of contention between interest groups, which included “vigorous” debate on topics such as moorland management and the planting of trees. The park authority said it would not be considering the reintroduction of large predators such as wolves or big cats. Neil Heseltine, the authority’s chairman, said that, while he wanted to see an ambitious nature recovery programme, changes on the ground would be subtle and “will not alter what we love about the national park”. The Northern Echo and Richmondshire Today reported the story.  

Elsewhere:

• A grant of almost £200,000 from the National Grid is helping to restore old hedgerows and establish new woodland copses around Quernmore, reports the Lancashire Post.
• The Wildlife Trust for Oxfordshire has partnered with Blenheim on an ambitious nature recovery project across 2,000 acres of the estate.
• Successful conservation projects in Kent have resulted in record numbers of sightings of Duke of Burgundy, a threatened butterfly species. Elsewhere, the rare Lace Border moth is a new arrival to the South Downs National Park.
• The final flock of hand-reared black-tailed godwits are set to be released by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust in Welney, reports the BBC.
• Natural England and its partners have delivered twenty-six green projects across Cornwall in the year since it hosted the G7 summits, reports the BBC.
• A peregrine falcon nest found on a pylon in Lincolnshire has forced engineering work to pause to ensure the safety of its eggs, reports the BBC.
• The rare coralroot orchid has been rediscovered in Wester Ross rainforest for the first time in 250 years, reports the BBC and the Scotsman.
• Bird netting which trapped several peregrine falcons on a University of Leeds building has been removed, reports the BBC. Two young falcons rescued from the netting are currently being rehabilitated, reports BirdGuides.
• Green MP Caroline Lucas visited the River Waveney on the Norfolk Suffolk border to view the sewer overflow pipes feeding into the river, reports the BBC.
• Leicestershire County Council is using plants and artificial salt marshes to clean water it collects from drains, reports the BBC.
• Rising numbers of rats at a nature reserve in Rhyl are having a detrimental effect on the bird population by stealing their eggs, reports the BBC.
• Hundreds of residents of Chard, Somerset, have objected to a planned new road which would cut through a local nature reserve, reports the BBC.
• An ancient meadow in Bicester has received a protection boost through the creation of a Community Interest Company to take on its ownership and management, reports the Oxford Mail.
• A 600-year-old oak in Grimeshaw Wood, Cambridgeshire, has been cut down, despite the efforts of Extinction Rebellion activists to protect it, reports the Telegraph.
• A couple are taking the Environment Agency to court over damaging water removal from the Norfolk Broads, reports the Guardian.
• South Cumbria Rivers Trust has started work on a reedbed restoration project around Windermere, reports The Mail.
• A conservation project in the Humber Estuary is releasing more than half a million oysters to help restore plant and fish life, reports the BBC.
• National Highways is planning to plant more than a million trees to limit the environmental impact of building the Lower Thames Crossing linking Kent and Essex, reports the BBC.
• An increase in plastic pollution on Skomer Island nature reserve is impacting on its wildlife, reports the National.
• A nature reserve in Penrhos is to be “relocated” to make way for a new coastal holiday park, reports Wales Online.

Reports

Pesticides | Too little is being done to protect wildlife from pesticides, according to a report published by the RSPB. Sixty years after Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring highlighted the unknown risks of pesticides, the report finds that over 150 different pesticides are currently in use across the British countryside in a combined quantity which could cover all British farmland ten times over. The review of studies finds major gaps in the understanding of how the “cocktail” of chemicals is affecting wildlife, and also highlights that the risk assessment process does not adequately assess the real-world impacts of pesticides. Katie-Jo Luxton, the RSPB’s director for conservation, said: “What we do know is extremely worrying, but clearly is just the very tip of an iceberg of understanding about the impacts of pesticides on our wildlife; above land, below it and in our rivers and seas.” The report makes a number of recommendations to the government, including UK-wide pesticide reduction targets, increased financial support for farmers to reduce pesticides, and more investment into the research and development of non-chemical alternatives.

Agroforestry | A report by the Woodland Trust Scotland and Soil Association Scotland is calling for the widespread integration of trees on farms and crofts to help tackle biodiversity loss and climate change. The Scottish government’s Forest Strategy has set a target of 21% forest and woodland cover by 2032, but the report argues that the strategy overlooks the contribution that can be made by trees on farmland by focusing instead on expanding forestry, which often takes land out of agricultural production. The report outlines the various benefits that trees on farmland bring to both agriculture and the wider ecosystem, and makes recommendations on how to overcome the barriers to tree-planting, from ring-fenced grant funding to addressing “cultural issues” around the separation of trees and farmland. David McKay of the Soil Association said: “We know that there are barriers, not least in terms of the mindset change that is required, but we also know that there is a significant level of interest in this from farmers and crofters in all parts of Scotland.” The BBC, Farming UK and the Forestry Journal covered the story.

Land | The Scottish Land Commission (SLC) has published a series of recommendations to the Scottish government on how to harness the opportunity of Scotland’s rising land value to drive the transition to net-zero, while also helping the market work in the public interest. The advice follows research commissioned by the SLC showing that carbon and natural capital are increasingly motivating land purchases and are contributing to rising land values. The chief executive of SLC, Hamish Trench, said that interest in carbon and natural capital is “shining a fresh spotlight” on issues that are not wholly new. The recommendations seek to address Scotland’s long-standing pattern of concentrated land ownership through measures such as a public interest test at the point of significant transactions and publicly advertising the sale of large landholdings.

Science

Trees | There could be up to two million ancient and veteran trees in England, according to a study in Ecological Applications, which has mapped their probable locations. The estimate is ten times the number currently on official records. The research, led by Dr. Victoria Nolan from the University of Nottingham, used the Woodland Trust’s citizen-science database, the Ancient Tree Inventory, alongside species distribution models to predict where ancient trees are likely to grow. The computer model looked at factors such as landscape layout, habitats and population density, as well as distance from cities and roads. The study heralds a note of optimism for conservation, since old trees are fantastic for wildlife: one ancient oak is thought to have more biodiversity than a thousand 100-year-old oaks. However, Nolan warns that the results are also “kind of scary”, because the trees currently have no protection. The Woodland Trust is calling on the government to include legal protection for all ancient trees in its new green paper on nature recovery in England. The BBC and the Guardian covered the research.

Fertiliser | Farmers can reduce the use of chemical fertilisers by switching to nature-based techniques, according to a study published in Nature Sustainability. Researchers analysed 30 farms across Europe and Africa for more than nine years, using data from more than 25,000 harvests of six crops. It found that high crop yields, usually achieved using artificial fertilisers, can instead be reached by more environmentally friendly practices. These include farming a wider range of crops, growing legumes such as beans and clover to enhance soil fertility, and adding manure, compost and cuttings to soil. Such techniques would protect and improve the natural ecosystems of farms while also making financial savings on chemical fertilisers. The paper is the first major study to compare different agricultural practices that intentionally work with nature to boost yields and explore how they interact with nitrogen fertiliser inputs. The Guardian, Farming UK and Agriland covered the research.

Ponds | Have you ever wondered what the definition of a ‘pond’ is? How big can they be, and what distinguishes them from lakes? A study in Scientific Reports tackled this ambiguity by compiling scientific and legal pond definitions, comparing their ecosystem functions to lakes and wetlands, and proposing an evidence-based definition. The authors conclude that ponds are small (less than five hectares), shallow (less than five metres), and with less than 30% emergent vegetation cover. They can be both permanent or temporary, and natural or human-made. Agreeing on a functional definition of ponds is important, according to the study, because the lack of universal definition causes confusion in counting bodies of water and risks overestimating their global emissions through double counting. Furthermore, ponds often lack legal protection and are underrepresented in monitoring efforts, which could partly stem from unclear definitions. Lead author Meredith Holgerson of Cornell University published a helpful summary on Twitter. Freshwater Habitats Trust pointed out that it has already developed a UK definition for a pond, which is now enshrined in UK law.

Driftwood

Farming | An in-depth feature in the Sunday Times delves into the growing issues facing small farms in Britain, and how the countryside would be drastically different without them. Of particular concern for farmers is the promised transition from basic payments to a new subsidy system which is yet to come into force. Meanwhile, in the Guardian, Patrick Barkham visits Holkham Estate to explore how its conservation director, Jake Fiennes, has earned the respect of both farmers and ecologists. Most answers seem to involve expletives, although he claims he doesn’t want to be seen as the “Gordon Ramsay of conservation”. Fiennes also features in the Financial Times for his new book Land Healer, on how farming can heal the British countryside. For an insight into the future of farming, the article also recommends George Monbiot’s Regenesis and Sarah Langford’s Rooted.

Vagrants | In Emergence Magazine, author Cal Flyn writes about environmental “vagrants”: individual species arriving in new places, which are usually one-offs but which may represent the first of an “incoming flood” of climate migrations. From her perch in the Orkney Islands, Flyn watches as butterflies previously contained to southern England start to appear on the windswept shores in ones and twos, having made the perilous flight across the Pentland Firth. It is a phenomenon that is happening worldwide, Flyn explains, with around half of all the world’s plants and animals believed to be shifting their ranges in response to manmade climate change.

Biodiversity | A feature in Bloomberg takes a closer look at the new biodiversity net gain law, which will come into force in England next year. In particular, it highlights the potential for the rule to reshape the appearance of the countryside, “and not in a good way”. The rule requires developers to create an additional 10% of biodiversity to compensate for any damage done to nature, or else to buy offsets for habitats created elsewhere. The market for these credits controversially allows developers to purchase habitat types entirely different to the ones they damaged. Frédéric Hache, executive director of the NGO Green Finance Observatory, said: “There’s a strong risk that developers will all focus on the cheapest and fastest habitat to restore, leading to a decline in biodiversity.”

Further reading:

• In a blog for the Institute of Welsh Affairs, RSPB policy officer Meriel Harrison argues that the Welsh government must set ambitious targets if it is to reverse biodiversity loss.
• Charles Moore writes in the Telegraph that farmers and environmentalists could be allies if more government funds went toward producing healthy, nature-friendly food.
• In an opinion piece for the Independent, environmental campaigner Donnachadh McCarthy criticises the Conservative government’s track record for protecting British wildlife.
• In the Guardian, former chair of the Climate Change Committee Adair Turner argues that the environmental case for reducing red meat consumption is indisputable.
• A review in the Guardian describes Sophie Pavelle’s new book Forget Me Not as an “openhearted, superbly nerdish fan letter” to Britain’s unsung species.
• In the Times, campaigner Guy Shrubsole explains why the right to camp on Dartmoor must be defended from a new legal challenge to limit public access.
• A feature in the Independent explores how invasive rhododendrons are endangering some of Britain’s most vulnerable woodlands.
• A BBC article focusing on Welsh councils asks whether grass cutting should be halted for the entirety of summer to allow areas more time to grow.
• The Telegraph has published an opinion piece on the serious public health risk posed by sewage in waterways, written collaboratively by Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer; Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency; and Jonson Cox, Chair of Ofwat. Defra responded to the article by emphasising that protecting and enhancing the nation’s waterways is a government priority, and setting out the actions that have been taken so far.

Happy days

Summer | If you’re thinking of spending the summer seeking out British wildlife, the papers have you covered for recommendations. In the Guardian, this article recommends the ten best UK holidays for wildlife. The trips range from red stag safaris in Exmoor and badger watching in Dorset, right the way north to kayaking in the Hebrides and rewilding in the Cairngorms. Meanwhile, inspired by the recent expansion of the Somerset Wetlands, the Telegraph picks 12 beautiful British nature reserves perfect for a summer staycation.