© Environment News Service (ENS) 2000
August 28, 2000

LONDON, United Kingdom, August 28, 2000 (ENS) - The United Kingdom government has proposed a 50 percent increase in the number of sites designated as protected areas. The 81 new sites represent about 300,000 hectares, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said last Friday.

The increase is prompted by the European Commission's criticism of the UK for failing to produce a sufficient list of sites to be protected under the European Union's extensive network of important nature conservation sites, known as Natura 2000.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the 15 member European Union, told the UK last fall that it needed to pay more attention to reflecting the overall geographical and ecological range of habitats and species, and to ensure that submitted sites reflected all the interests on them.

With Friday's announcement, some of the UK's finest natural areas, including Ashdown Forest in Sussex, the North Yorkshire Moors, Overstrand Cliffs in Norfolk and Dawlish Warren in Devon, could receive long term protection under European law, as would the species that live there.

A.A. Milne's 100 Acre Wood, home to Winnie the Pooh and friends, was based on Ashdown Forest where the author lived. It was once a royal hunting ground and is the largest single tract of open country in southeast England. It is one of the few remaining areas of lowland heath left in Europe and supports unique flora and fauna.

A report by the conservation group Friends of the Earth warned that Overstrand Cliffs are in danger of disappearing because of coastal erosion from rising sea levels caused by global warming. Dawlish Warren is one of the best birdwatching sites in the UK, home to osprey, little grebe, Arctic skua, red-throated diver and short-eared owl.

The proposed revisions to the UK list of Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) brings the English total to 228 sites and the UK total, including Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, to 576.

SACs represent the most important sites for wildlife in the country. It is a European designation that covers animals, plants and habitats and provides them with increased protection and management.

"This major step for England's wildlife should complete the UK list of candidate SACs," said Prescott. "It is part of the UK's contribution to the European Union's extensive network of important nature conservation sites - known as Natura 2000 - all of which are prized for their rare and threatened habitat types and wildlife species."

The government will consult with the public and national organizations before sending its final list of sites to the European Commission. English Nature, the government's conservation and wildlife agency, will consult with landowners, occupiers and local authorities site by site.

"This is great news for our most important wildlife sites," said Baroness Young, English Nature's Chairwoman. "England now has over 900,000 hectares of protection for internationally threatened plants and animals, like the western rustwort and lesser horseshoe bat, and fragile habitats like sand dunes, stretching from Northumberland to Cornwall."

"We now hope the consultation process can be fully completed as quickly as possible to secure the future for our share of Europe's natural heritage," Young said.

Consultation is expected to be complete within the next eight to 12 weeks. Error: Unable to read footer file.