§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will place in the Library the scientific advice received from English Nature concerning the notification of the River Tweed as a candidate special area of conservation under the European Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild flora. [88617]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 28 June 1999]: With the agreement of the Scottish Executive, I have placed in the Library of the House a paper written by the Chief Scientist of Scottish Natural Heritage (English Nature's equivalent in Scotland) in 1995 setting out a scientific analysis of the case for proposal of the River Tweed as a Special Area of Conservation. That document is the best summary of the agency's advice. The Government and the 589W statutory nature conservation agencies subsequently discussed the various scientific factors which had to be taken into account in making a decision about whether to propose the site to the European Commission as a candidate Special Area of Conservation.
The Government concluded that the River Tweed should not be proposed to the European Commission as a candidate Special Area of Conservation. The Government believed that there were a number of reasons why, applying the criteria for site selection specified in the Habitats Directive, the River Tweed was not an outstanding candidate for Special Area of Conservation status for Atlantic salmon. These included the relatively poor state of the spawning salmon stock, the very substantial modification by man of the watercourse, and discharges into the river environment. The Government have proposed five other rivers to the European Commission as candidate Special Areas of Conservation for salmon, which we believe better meet the selection criteria of the Habitats Directive.
The implementation of the Habitats Directive in Scotland is now a matter for the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Executive.