§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to(a) encourage a reversal in the decline of the number of wet birds,(b) ensure refuges for wintering birds,(c) safeguard resting places for migrating birds travelling north and south and (d) reverse the decline in rare water plants; and if she will make a statement. [101874]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 10 March 2003]The information is as follows:
(a) Analysis of Wetland Bird Survey count data for 32 wetland bird species by the British Trust for Ornithology shows that for all 32 species, population trends had either increased or stabilised for the five winters to 1999–2000. Therefore, in the non-breeding season at least, these birds are not suffering decline in Great Britain. This is evidence of the effectiveness of the UK network of 243 Special Protection Areas (SPA) classified under the EC Wild Birds Directive; the UK series of 144 Ramsar sites; and the many Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) notified under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, for their wetland bird interests.
(b) and (c) A high proportion, in some cases all, of the national and international populations of wintering and migrating wetland birds utilise the protected sites of the UK SPA network. In winter it holds an average of over 2,186,000 non-breeding waterbirds. The habitat protection provided for these birds is a major contribution to their international conservation. Many of the same sites are additionally designated as Ramsar sites and all (on land in England and the great majority elsewhere) are notified as SSSIs.
262W(d) The principal form of protection for rare plants is through the designation of their habitat—either as Special Areas of Conservation under the Habitats Directive, as Ramsar sites, or as SSSI. The Government Biodiversity Action Plan has identified a number of water plants for priority action. A programme of active management for these species and those listed in the 1992 Directive is being funded, mainly through English Nature's Species Recovery Programmes. Results for some species, such as floating water plantain, are very encouraging.