§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to the letter of 30 September 1998 from the Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Scunthorpe (Mr. Morley), for fisheries and the countryside to the hon. Member for Linlithgow concerning habitats, if he will make a statement on the action planned for sand dunes. [65384]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 14 January 1999]: Under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, a costed Habitat Action Plan for coastal sand dunes is being prepared and is due to be published later this year. It will include specific targets for the protection and enhancement of sand dunes and a list of actions to help achieve these targets.
A large proportion of sand dunes is designated as SSSIs and twenty-one sites have been proposed to the European Commission as candidate Special Areas of Conservation under the Habitats Directive.
The Countryside Stewardship Scheme includes various measures to encourage farmers and land managers to improve the natural beauty and diversity of the countryside. These include payments for managing sand dunes. The Scheme is voluntary and competitive, and agreements under it run for 10 years. Similar measures apply in Scotland under the Countryside Premium Scheme.