§ Sue DoughtyTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the implications of climate change for biodiversity in the United Kingdom and its surrounding waters over the next 50 years. [165285]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Department, along with the Devolved Administrations, statutory nature conservation agencies and non-governmental organisations, is contributing to an on-going research programme on the impacts of climate change on biodiversity in the UK and its surrounding waters. Results suggest that as climate changes, the distribution of species and the composition of habitats will change. With warmer temperatures, some northern species are likely to retreat, while southern species may be able to expand their ranges. At the same time, coastal habitats will be affected by rising sea levels. On land, movement of some species may be impeded by our fragmented landscapes, possibly leading to local extinctions. However, dispersal and movement of species within the marine environment is not hindered in this way and evidence from surveys of rocky shorelines shows that many species have already extended their range northwards over the past 20 to 30 years.
The key to understanding climate change impacts on biodiversity are long time series of data which enable the distinction of natural variability from local human impacts and longer term climatic trends. Within the UK Marine Monitoring Strategy we are making provisions for collection of time series data to enable better estimation of the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems.