§ Mr. Barry FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the results of the recently completed surface water acidification programme and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryThe results of the surface water acidification programme, which has been held under the auspices of the Royal Society and the Norwegian and Swedish academies of science, have cast valuable light on this subject. This programme has complemented the continuing research programmes funded by the Department of the Environment as well as those of the Natural Environmental Research Council, and the Lock Fleet studies funded by the CEGB. My Department is funding research programmes on air pollution which in 1990–91 will total nearly £7 million: a similar sum will be devoted to research on climate change and stratospheric ozone. In addition to the research programmes, the Department operates a system of independent scientific review groups to provide a critical evaluation of the emerging evidence and need for further work.
Together these programmes show that for some upland, sensitive areas of Wales, Scotland, Cumbria, the midlands, the Pennines and parts of the south-east of south-west England, as in Scandinavia, there is a direct link betwen acid disposition, soil and water acidification and effects on flora and fauna. This direct link means we would expect to observe a decrease in acidification in certain areas following a reduction in sulphur dioxide emissions. The first signs of such a recovery have been found for some lochs in the south-west of Scotland following the decreases in United Kingdom emissions of SO2, that have occurred over the past 20 years, and further improvement is to be expected as a result of the major additional reductions to which we are now committed. As part of its research programme, the DOE is committed to monitoring these long-term trends in air pollution.
One important outcome of the science has been the development of the critical loads concept which enables ecosystems to be classified in terms of their sensitivity to pollution. This concept is now accepted internationally as a basis for discussing strategies for controlling pollution.