Latest news with #OfficeforEnvironmentalProtection
Agriland
09-06-2025
- General
- Agriland
DAERA ‘may have' failed to comply with law to protect wild birds
The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has found possible failures to comply with environmental law by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in relation to the protection of wild birds. In March 2024, the OEP launched an investigation into possible failures to implement recommendations by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), on the classification of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) on land, and in respect of their general duties to protect and maintain wild bird populations. Following the investigation, the OEP concluded that there may have been failures to comply with environmental law, and issued DAERA with an information notice setting out the details of its findings. According to the OEP, DAERA has two months to respond to the notice. The OEP said it will consider the response before deciding the next steps. The chief regulatory officer for the OEP, Helen Venn said: 'Government has a legal obligation to maintain populations of wild birds and ensure they have enough suitable habitat. 'One way in which they do this is through SPAs, which are legally designated sites that protect rare and threatened wild birds, such as whooper swans, puffins, and light-bellied brent geese. 'They are internationally important areas for breeding, overwintering, and migrating birds, and have also been shown to deliver positive outcomes for wider biodiversity,' Venn explained. Wild birds According to the OEP, populations of wild birds continue to decline across Northern Ireland, with recent studies placing a quarter of birds found on the island of Ireland on the birds of conservation concern red list. Venn said: 'There has been constructive engagement during our investigation with DAERA and note that some positive steps are being taken in these areas. 'However, our investigation has found what we believe to be possible failures to comply with environmental law by DAERA relating to the protection of wild birds.' 'We have therefore decided to move to the next step in our enforcement process, which is to issue an information notice setting out our findings,' Venn added.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Daera 'possibly failed' to comply with law over wild birds
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) may have failed to comply with environmental law, according to a new report. It is in relation to special protection areas for at-risk wild birds, such as puffins, whooper swans and light-bellied Brent geese. An investigation from the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) had been previously launched in March 2024, following potential failures to implement recommendations given by a conservation body. Daera said it welcomes the OEP's work and will be "considering the investigation findings", whilst recognising "that there is much more to do to protect our natural environment and the habitats that wild birds and other wildlife need to survive and thrive". The OEP has issued Daera with a notice, which they must respond to within two months. A full response will be delivered by the deadline of 5 August Helen Venn, the OEP chief regulatory officer has said that the government has a legal obligation to maintain populations of wild birds and ensure they have enough suitable habitat. Ms Venn said "our investigation has found what we believe to be possible failures to comply with environmental law by DAERA relating to the protection of wild birds". She noted the decline in wild birds across Northern Ireland, adding that recent studies have placed "a quarter of birds found on the island of Ireland on the Birds of Conservation Concern Red List". The investigation in March 2024 looked into failures to implement recommendations given by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and other conservation public bodies on the classification and adaptation of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) A parallel investigation is looking at the same issues relating to England, and information notices have also been issued to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Secretary of State (SoS) and Natural England. The Office for Environmental Protection, external is a new environmental governance body, which holds the government and other public authorities in England and Northern Ireland to account on their environmental protection and improvement. It also covers reserved UK-wide matters. It advises the government and Northern Ireland Assembly on any changes to environmental law. It has statutory powers to investigate and enforces compliance with environmental law where needed. That enforcement can include legal action if unresolved through compliance with recommendations. Department investigated over bird protection areas Department investigated over ammonia guidance Bird flu causes 'dramatic decline' in NI seabirds
The Herald Scotland
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Planning reforms break Labour's promise to protect nature, green groups say
The draft legislation, if passed, would instead allow developers to make general environmental improvements and pay into a nature restoration fund that improves habitats on other sites. Sunrise through deciduous woodland with beech trees at Bolderwood, New Forest National Park, Hampshire (Guy Edwardes) But the Office for Environmental Protection watchdog recently warned that the Bill represents a 'regression' in environmental law and would remove safeguards for nature. The Government's own assessment of the Bill also found little evidence green protections are a blocker to development. The Wildlife Trusts and the RSPB are now warning that irreplaceable habitats such as chalk streams and ancient woodland, species such as hazel dormice and otters, and areas such as the New Forest and Peak District Moors will no longer be as strongly protected from development. The groups said they have been calling for a series of amendments to tone down what they see as the most damaging aspects of the Bill but that the Government has failed to listen to their concerns or consider their 'constructive solutions'. Now they want to see ministers remove part of the nature recovery section entirely, which they say replaces environmental protections with a weaker substitute. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill was introduced in March and comes as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves argue that current nature rules have gone too far, often citing the £100 million HS2 bat tunnel. Craig Bennett, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, said: 'Before the general election, Labour promised to restore nature. An otter pokes its head above water (Luke Massey) 'Under a year later, the Chancellor is leading an ideological charge against the natural world despite it being the very foundation of the economy, society and people's health. 'Promises have been broken, and millions of people have been betrayed.' Mr Bennett said the Bill in its current form 'fundamentally undermines' the Government's commitment to protect nature, describing proposals on nature recovery as a 'Trojan horse' and a 'misnomer'. He also said the organisation is 'appalled' that the suggestions it has put forward to ministers have 'all been spurned'. The organisations also published research on Thursday arguing that nature does not block economic growth. It found that bats and great crested newts – protected species often cited in arguments for removing planning barriers – are a factor in just 3% of planning appeal decisions. Wood sorrel by a woodland stream at Wyming Brook, Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust (Tom Hibbert) Alongside the paper, a Savanta survey commissioned by the Wildlife Trusts suggests less than a third (32%) of the British public feel the Government has kept its promises to improve access to nature, promote biodiversity and protect wildlife. The poll also found just 26% of the 2,035 respondents believe the Government is taking the nature crisis seriously enough while just 25% said they would back building developments in their area even if they harmed the local environment. Beccy Speight, RSPB chief executive, said the organisation engaged 'in good faith' with the Government for months but that the current draft legislation will 'rip the heart out of environmental protections and risks sending nature further into freefall'. 'The fate of our most important places for nature and the laws that protect them are all in the firing line,' she said. 'That cannot be allowed to stand. 'The evidence clearly shows nature isn't a blocker to growth. 'The Government has identified the wrong obstacle to the problem it's trying to overcome, and that has led it to the wrong solutions.' A Government spokesperson said: 'We completely reject these claims. The government has inherited a failing system that has delayed new homes and infrastructure while doing nothing for nature's recovery, and we are determined to fix this through our Plan for Change. 'That's why our Planning and Infrastructure Bill will deliver a win-win for the economy and nature by unblocking building and economic growth, and delivering meaningful environmental improvements.'
The Guardian
02-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Labour's planning bill threatens protected habitats, says environment watchdog
Keir Starmer's planning bill has been criticised by the environment watchdog, which has warned that the draft of the legislation would remove safeguards for nature and put protected sites at risk. Currently, laws that protect habitats and nature are derived from EU legislation. Since the UK left the bloc, it has been able to weaken these laws that protect specific species and habitats. The planning and infrastructure bill going through parliament overrides EU-derived specific habitat protections, and asks instead for general environmental improvement when developers build houses. The bill also allows housebuilders to pay into a nature restoration fund to improve habitats on another site, which could be anywhere in the country, rather than avoiding disturbance to nature where they are building. The bill aims to boost economic growth by removing 'red tape', making it easier to build homes and other infrastructure. But nature organisations have warned it puts nature at risk. The environment minister Mary Creagh this week complained that criticism of the bill was 'deeply misleading' and that it was a 'win-win for people and for nature recovery'. But according to Dame Glenys Stacey, the chair of the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), the bill will weaken environmental protections. 'There are fewer protections for nature written into the bill than under existing law. Creating new flexibility without sufficient legal safeguards could see environmental outcomes lessened over time. And aiming to improve environmental outcomes overall, whilst laudable, is not the same as maintaining in law high levels of protection for specific habitats and species. 'In our considered view, the bill would have the effect of reducing the level of environmental protection provided for by existing environmental law. As drafted, the provisions are a regression.' The watchdog has called for the bill to be strengthened and for safeguards of protected nature sites to be included. It warns that under this bill, conservation measures would be allowed to be located away from the protected sites affected by development. Presently this is only allowed in limited circumstances and where the protected site network is protected, but, the OEP said such safeguards are absent from the bill. The Guardian revealed this week that housing developers will be able to build on once-protected green spaces without having to replace the loss of nature in the nearby areas. New nature areas, parks and community gardens created to offset the removal of green spaces to make way for housing developments may not even have to be in the same county. Environmental experts have called for the bill to be amended. Ali Plummer, the policy director at Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: 'When the government's own watchdog brands the planning and infrastructure bill environmental regression, ministers can't ignore it. The bill is a clear watering down of protections but there is still time to amend it, resulting in wins for both development, communities and wildlife. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion 'England deserves policies that raise the bar for nature and neighbourhoods nationwide, not roll it back. Now is the time for the government to recognise the problems with the bill and get it back on track.' Alexa Culver, legal counsel at RSK Biocensus, said: 'This opinion exposes government's willingness to mislead the public to drive through environmentally and economically harmful policy. This dangerous bill needs to be halted, for normal due process, broad and wide consultation, impact assessment and pilots. Bulldozing this bill through isn't winning votes, and isn't helping our economy, or our environment.' Defra has been contacted for comment.
