Water business are enabling crucial all-natural landscapes they have to fall under disrepair, information programs, with just 16% of websites of unique clinical passion (SSSIs) under their control in great problem.
The business have actually been implicated of “polluting for profit” by not spending to enhance the standing of their SSSIs.
Charles Watson, the chair of River Action, claimed: “Nothing demonstrates better the appalling environmental record of our polluting water companies than the fact that they are not even taking care of the highly protected areas that they actually own. It simply cannot be right that the payment of large dividends to shareholders and huge bonuses to bosses is prioritised before protecting SSSIs. This entire culture of polluting for profit must end.”
An SSSI is a parcel that the federal government has actually considered really crucial for nature. The classification covers a few of Great Britain’s most valuable landscapes, consisting of national forests, seaside locations, hills and moors, and secures them from growth.
But information reveals that several big landowners are not maintaining their SSSIs in a great state.
Natural England, the non-departmental public body billed with securing England’s nature, has actually organized the biggest SSSI proprietors with each other right into the significant landowners’ team (MLG). This consists of public utility, national forests, charities such as the RSPB, and federal government bodies consisting of the Environment Agency.
New information on the MLG reveals some landowners have actually fallen back; along with public utility, just 14.6% of SSSIs coming from national forest authorities remain in a great state, according to the April 2024 numbers.
Some landowners are doing instead much better in handling their SSSIs: 80.8% of websites had by the Environment Agency and 57.7% of those run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds are considered to be in beneficial problem.
Campaigners have actually contacted the Labour federal government to require public utility and various other landowners to bring their SSSIs right into a much better problem.
The ecological advocate Guy Shrubsole, the writer of the honest publication The Lie of the Land that discovered the information, claimed: “Major landowners have a particular responsibility to look after the nature in their care – but too many are clearly failing to be good stewards.
“Labour must make big landowners like water companies publicly accountable and set a legally binding target for improving SSSI condition.
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“Ministers have a golden opportunity to set up a new public nature estate, ensuring public land and major landowners are leading the way for nature recovery, and helping to meet the UN goal of 30% of England being protected for nature by 2030.”
The water advocate and previous Undertones frontman Feargal Sharkey claimed: “In a time when there is debate about regulation, the perfect storm approaches. Natural England once again is proving its failure to regulate and hold to account those who damage the environment, and the water companies are once again demonstrating they are institutionally deaf to the plight of the environment and their duty not to damage it.
“We need a complete overhaul of the system, which is dysfunctional and does not work.”
A Water UK agent claimed: “According to Natural England data, 85% of water company-owned SSSIs are in favourable or recovering condition. This is comparable with other major landowners.”
Natural England and National Parks England have actually been spoken to for remark.
