United Kingdom
Countryside and Rights of Way Act
The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 has now received Royal Assent. A number of the Act's provisions will come into force on 1 February 2001 including those in Part III concerning nature conservation and wildlife protection. Measures include strengthening wildlife protection, promotion of diversity of species and habitats and tougher action against wildlife crime, with jail sentences of up to six months and fines of up to GBP5000 for many offences. The deliberate release of non-native and certain other species could result in prison sentences of up to two years. Part IV of the Act is concerned with improving the management of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty which will require local authorities to prepare and publish a management plan. It will also allow conservation boards to be created to take over responsibility for the management of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Act also covers access rights of the public in the countryside.
(SO, December 2000)
Wildlife habitats
The DETR have announced new, comprehensive policy guidance to protect wetland sites in England, involving over 361,000 hectares of wildlife habitats. The sites are listed under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, an inter-governmental treaty signed in Ramsar, Iran in 1971. As well as protection against development, habitats will also have a guarantee of restoration and replacement in the rare circumstances that development is permitted. It is seen as complementing the provisions for enhancing the management and protection of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the Countryside and Rights of Way Bill. It also gives the sites broad equivalence to those designated under the Birds and Habitats Directive as part of the Natura 2000 network.
(DETR News Release, 14 November 2000)
A report by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology has concluded that green policies put in place in the past ten years have checked much of the wildlife habitat destruction that has occurred over several decades. England and Wales now have more lowland ponds, broad-leaved woodlands and cleaner rivers than ten years ago. However, Scottish and Northern Irish bogs are suffering, and there is less plant diversity in grasslands. The study 'Countryside Survey 2000' attributes many of the improvements to changes in agricultural policies and increased investment in the environment by water companies.
(The Independent, 30 November 2000)
Urban White Paper
The Government has unveiled its Urban White Paper in an effort to halt the exodus of people to the countryside by revitalising inner City areas. Tax breaks promised in the pre-Budget report will aid some of the proposals outlined in the White Paper. These include improving urban public transport, increasing the number of homes built on brownfield sites and overhauling the planning system to promote urban regeneration.
(DETR 16 November 2000)
Sustainable Development Commission
In a speech co-hosted by the leading employer organisation, the CBI and the independent lobby group The Green Alliance, the Prime Minister launched the Sustainable Development Commission. The Commission will be a partnership of government, business, the green movement and the public. It was also announced that GBP150 million of new funding would be made available for the environment, to be equally shared by three main areas. These are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by developing renewable energy technology, to reduce the UK's waste mountain by improving recycling facilities and to improve the quality of life.
(Lycos News Release, 24 October 2000)
Scottish Environment Protection Agency
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has been given new powers to serve Enforcement Notices where a condition of a consent is being breached, or before pollution occurs where it believes that a breach of conditions is likely. The new powers will complement existing enforcement arrangements whereby SEPA can tackle non-compliance with the conditions of a discharge consent through discussion and negotiation, warning letters, revoking discharge consents or prosecution.
(Scottish Executive News Release, 30 November 2000)
European Union
EMAS eco-audit scheme
The European Parliament and the Council of Ministers have reached a conciliation agreement on new rules for the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), which should be formally approved early in 2001. The legislation should then take effect soon after. EMAS was introduced in 1993 under Regulation 1836/93, and allows voluntary participation by industrial companies. It has been widely adopted in some European countries but has not performed as well as the ISO 14001 environmental management standard used elsewhere. Of the 27 parliamentary amendments that had not been accepted by the Council at the second reading, 22 were passed partially or in full. MEPs also won extra guarantees of transparency, involvement of environmental groups and trades unions, and stronger requirements for EMAS-registered companies to demonstrate compliance with environmental laws. The new regulations also allow EU member states to create incentives to encourage participation in the scheme. In addition, member states will be directed by the Commission on how to take account of EMAS registrations in implementing and enforcing environmental laws.
(European Parliament Press Report, 27 November 2000)
European accession countries
The European Commission's Enlargement Strategy Paper, which was adopted in November 2000, praises the progress made by candidate countries on dealing with environmental legislation. However, it also expresses concern over the lack of headway made in implementing these rules. The Commission is now aiming to reach agreement with accession countries on the time delays allowed for meeting EU environmental standards by the middle of 2001. Most of the pollution, waste and waste water laws will have a high cost of implementation and therefore countries may require more time than the period before accession, which could be as early as 2002 for some countries. The Commission will allocate transition periods on a case by case basis with competition issues and health and environmental concerns influencing the likelihood of delays being approved.
(European Commission, November 2000)
