§ Mr. HawkinsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will publish the results of the countryside survey 1990.
§ Mr. YeoThe countryside survey 1990 will be published on 17 November. The countryside survey is one of the most comprehensive surveys of the British countryside that has ever been carried out. It is also the first survey to be based on the integration of information from satellite imagery and traditional field survey methods. The United Kingdom is the first country to undertake a national survey of this kind.
The primary aims of the survey were to provide information on the stock of land cover, landscape features and habitats in Great Britain in 1990, to identify change in these by reference to earlier data, and to establish a new baseline for the measurement of future change. The main focus was on the rural environment. The survey was undertaken by the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology and the Institute of Freshwater Ecology. The main funding was provided by the Department of the Environment, the Natural Environment Research Council and the Department of Trade and Industry through the British National Space Centre.
The survey is a testament to the Government's commitment to reporting on the state of the countryside. The survey data will now be available for further research on the causes and consequences of countryside change.