§ Mr. Rhodri MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what estimate he has made of the percentage of the United Kingdom(a) dunlin and (b) redshank over-wintering population covered by conservation agreements in connection with the agreements signed with the European Commission Environmental Protection Directorate at the time of approval for the Cardiff Bay Barrage; and if he will make a statement; [34173]
(2) what was the timetable agreed in undertakings given to the Environmental Protection Directorate of the European Commission at the time of the approval for the Cardiff Bay Barrage for the establishment of conservation agreements for habitats of (a) dunlin and (b) redshank expressed as a percentage of the over-wintering populations in any one year. [34174]
§ Angela EagleWhen the UK Government agreed compensatory measures for the loss of Cardiff Bay with the European Commission, it was estimated that some 80 per cent. of dunlin and 85 per cent. of redshank wintering populations would be covered by the eventual UK network of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) classified under the EU Birds Directive. There was no agreed timetable. We now know that the original population estimates, which were calculated using the total of the peak mean counts for the major sites identified in the UK's preliminary list of potential SPAs, as a percentage of the UK total wintering populations for both species, were too high. According to the most recent count data available (January 1996), 58 per cent. of all counted dunlin and 42 per cent. of counted redshank were on classified SPAs. Revised figures show that the completed SPA network will eventually cover 63 per cent. of the 269W wintering dunlin and 48 per cent. of the wintering redshank populations. The European Commission has been informed of these revised figures.