HC Deb 06 December 1993 vol 234 cc10-1W
Mr. Chris Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to hold a review of policies to conserve biodiversity following the publication of the 1990 countryside survey.

Mr. Yeo

Countryside survey 1990 reports on the 12-year period leading up to 1990. Since 1990 the Government have set in place a range of positive policy measures in the countryside. The United Kingdom has also strongly advocated the integration of environmental considerations in the reform of the common agricultural policy.

In June 1992 the Prime Minister and over 150 other Heads of State or Government signed the convention on biological diversity at Rio de Janeiro. In response to the convention, the United Kingdom biodiversity action plan will be published in January. The results from countryside survey 1990 have played a part in setting priorities for that plan.

Mr. Chris Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will investigate the reasons for the biodiversity losses recorded in the 1990 countryside survey.

Mr. Yeo

My Department is undertaking further scientific work to understand causes of changes reported by countryside survey. Examples are: in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, a project in Somerset levels to examine the effect of various fertiliser levels on plant diversity; in collaboration with the Economic and Social Research Council, a project at Wye college on the socio-economic factors that underlie the reported changes; and a project using a modelling approach to predict the effects of climate and policy changes on some of our rarer habitats.