HC Deb 18 April 2000 vol 348 cc448-9W
Mr. Fearn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the effect on wildfowl in the Ribble Estuary, Lancashire of global warming. [119100]

Mr. Mullin

My Department supports the UK Climate Impacts Programme at the University of Oxford to help organisations assess vulnerability to climate change. Three national projects concerning climate change impacts on biodiversity are currently in progress within the Programme, two of which are supported by my Department and MAFF. The first study is a general review of implications of climate change for nature conservation policies in the UK. The second is a project involving integrated assessments in two regions, NW England and East Anglia. The third is a modelling assessment of impacts on species and habitats in Britain and Ireland, including wildfowl in river estuaries. All three projects are in progress and the results have not yet been assessed. This is wider than, and would be applicable to, the Ribble Estuary, but no specific assessment has been made in the Ribble Estuary.

Mr. Fearn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans his Department has to increase monitoring of wildfowl in the Ribble Estuary, Lancashire. [119099]

Mr. Mullin

The Ribble Estuary has been monitored since 1970 through the Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS). The WeBS is a joint scheme of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) to monitor the non-breeding birds in the United Kingdom. Counts are made annually at around 2,000 wetland sites in the United Kingdom; estuaries and large still waters predominate. The Department believes the current monitoring of the Ribble Estuary to be sufficient.

Mr. Fearn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what advice his Department has received from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and other wildlife organisations concerning the Ribble Estuary and global warming. [119098]

Mr. Mullin

Research contractors working for the Department, MAFF and the UK Water Industry have held consultations with a large number of stakeholders in NW England in connection with an on-going study of climate change impacts in NW England. However, the Department is not aware of any specific concerns raised about the Ribble Estuary.