§ Lord Bleaseasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will list the staff complement responsible for working on the renotification and declaration of Areas of Special Scientific Interest under the Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands (Northern Ireland) Order 1985, and whether additional resources will be made available for this task.
§ Lord LyellEight staff are engaged full-time on the declaration of Areas of Special Scientific Interest. Supervision is provided by senior scientific staff.
In addition, a number of field and administrative staff have an input into the process of declaration amounting in total to the equivalent of between two and three full-time posts.
The staff complement is kept under review.
§ Lord Bleaseasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many Areas of Special Scientific Interest have been declared by the Northern Ireland 1226WA Department of the Environment since the passage of the Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands (Northern Ireland) Order 1985; and whether they will list the areas so declared and state when they expect the declaration of Strangford Lough to be completed.
§ Lord LyellSeventeen Areas of Special Scientific Interest have been declared. These comprise four peatland sites, three hazelwoods, five haymeadows, one limestone grassland, one major freshwater lake, one area of tidal mudflat and reclaimed land and two areas which are localities for rare plant species.
The declaration of the foreshore of Strangford Lough, which for administrative reasons, is being undertaken in sections, will be completed during the first half of 1988.