§ Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domerasked Her Majesty's Government:
Given that the decline or increase in bird populations is one of the Government's 15 indicators of sustainable development, why in Regional Quality of Life Counts are data lacking for farmland birds for four regions out of eight; and if this is due to an insufficient number of sampling sites, what are they doing to address this. [HL4142]
§ Lord WhittyRegional wild bird indicators drawn from the Common Birds Census are currently available for 4 regional populations from 1970 to 2000. Regional data are limited because of an insufficient number of sampling sites. In order to address this problem the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the British Trust for Ornithology will be using data from the Breeding Birds Survey (BBS), a new survey set up in 1994 in order to improve upon the coverage of the Commons Birds Census, which was originally used to produce the wild bird population indicators.
Figures for 2001 were not produced due to lack of data due to field restrictions to sample sites due to foot and mouth disease. It is hoped that data from the BBS will first be used to produce the 2002 national indicators which will be available in December 2003, with regional results, including additional regional indicators, following in early 2004. The better regional 91WA coverage of the BBS should enable more regional indicators to be produced.
Because of foot and mouth disease restrictions on field visits in 2001 no figures were produced for that year.
§ Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domerasked Her Majesty's Government:
Given that Regional Quality of Life Counts shows that both farmland and woodland birds are either declining in population or not increasing to recover their previous population, whether they will increase the effort they put into biodiversity. [HL4143]
§ Lord WhittyConsiderable efforts are currently being made to increase the effort we put into biodiversity and encourage a growth in farmland and woodland bird numbers. A number of initiatives are under way. These include:
Agri-environment schemes, which provide significant funding for promoting environmentally sustainable farming practices; more than £1 billion has been made available for the seven-year period 2000 to 2007. We are currently reviewing the schemes with the aim of streamlining and simplifying them while also improving their effectiveness.
The introduction in February this year of a pilot entry-level agri-environment scheme to reward a range of simple management practices designed to benefit a range of biodiversity and landscape objectives. It is designed to be eventually available to all farmers. If successful the Government will roll out the scheme throughout England from 2005. It is designed to be eventually available to all farmers
Biodiversity action plans for certain species which have suffered significant declines such as skylark, corn bunting and song thrush;
Various Defra extensive monitoring and research programmes, funded by Defra, to which the Forestry Commission and other partner organisations contribute that will provide an evidence base for new policy measures and guidance on reversing the declines.