Category Archives: Agri-Environment Scheme
Checking the Progress of Government on the Natural Environment
The Government could try harder on the natural environment. That was the conclusion of ‘Nature Check 2012′, an overview of the Government’s progress against the commitments made in the Coalition Agreement, launched by Wildlife and Countryside Link, and endorsed by … Continue reading
New POSTnote encapsulates land sharing vs land sparing debate
A POSTnote from the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology ‘Balancing Nature and Agriculture’ published online this week outlines the ongoing debate over land sparing versus land sharing in sustainable management of agricultural land for biodiversity conservation. Much biodiversity is … Continue reading
Environmental Stewardship Delivers Ecosystem Services Underpinning Food Security
The relationship between agriculture and ecosystem services is a strong one. Farming can contribute to critical services including food security and economic growth, maintenance of cultural landscapes, rural employment and (when managed correctly) provision of valuable habitat for a significant … Continue reading
Doing More with Less for the Natural Environment in 2012
Yesterday the BES Policy Team attended ‘Natural Environment 2012′, a conference in central London to explore the Natural Environment White Paper (NEWP) and the actions that have taken place to implement this since its launch in 2011. Delegates were drawn … Continue reading
Intensive farming methods affect birds and plants in Europe
Intensive farming methods have simplified landscapes across Europe, leading to a loss of biodiversity. A recent study has investigated the effects of intensive farming on plants, beetles and birds in Western European regions and found that plants and birds are … Continue reading
EU Budget Announcement: Implications for Ecology and Biodiversity
Last week the European Commission announced their plans for the new EU budget. The new budget, known as the Multi Annual Financial Framework (MFF) sets how much will be spent over the years 2014 to 2020, and how this money … Continue reading
EU cuts threaten wildlife conservation on agricultural land
Scientists fear cuts to the EU budget could threaten the continued persistence of wildlife on agricultural landscapes. Up to £400 million worth of funding provided through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) could be stopped as a result of government spending … Continue reading
All party Parliamentary Conservation and Wildlife Group 11th May 2011 – Future Priorities of Natural England
The BES policy team yesterday attended a meeting of the All party Parliamentary Conservation and Wildlife Group. The meeting commenced with a talk about future priorities of Natural England from Dr Helen Phillips, Chief Executive of Natural England, followed by … Continue reading
Valuing nature conservation interests
Various techniques have been developed for valuing ecosystem services and in a recently published paper in the Journal of Applied Ecology seven methods of valuing nature conservation interest have been assessed and compared by a team consisting of members from … Continue reading
ALARMing News for Butterflies
A new study mapping the distribution of European butterfiles has revealed that, even under the best-case scenario, climate change will mean that much of the land occupied by many different butterfly species will become too warm for their survival. The … Continue reading