§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the size of the stone curlew population within the Breckland Farmland Site of Special Scientific Interest(a) at present, (b) five years ago, (c) 10 years ago and (d) 15 years ago. [165145]
§ Mr. Bradshaw[holding answer 19 April 2004]: From the counts of stone curlews within the Breckland Farmland SSSI undertaken by the work of the Breckland Stone Curlew Recovery Project I am able to provide the following information:
(a) The number of pairs proved breeding in the 2003 breeding season was 110 (this does not include parts of the SSSI where access for survey and monitoring was denied);
The Breckland Farmland SSSI was not notified until 2001, so the following figures are for the population nesting on arable and other land within the whole of the Breckland area. This excludes the heathland sites which are the main breeding areas outside the current Breckland Farmland SSSI. These records were used in the assessment of the Breckland Farmland SSSI boundary for breeding stone curlew. The number of pairs proved breeding on arable and other areas within Breckland in the years requested is as follows:
Pairs (b) 1998 86 (c) 1993 49 (d)1988 55
§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Breckland Farmland Site of Special Scientific Interest takes to encourage appropriate habitat management practice. [165146]
§ Mr. Bradshaw[holding answer 19 April 2004]: The conservation of stone curlew in Breckland is encouraged by the work of the Breckland Stone Curlew Recovery Project, jointly funded mainly by English Nature and the RSPB. Project staff locate and monitor breeding sites and advise farmers on appropriate management actions to ensure breeding success. English Nature's funding for the project is from its SSSI management budget. The success of the stone curlew recovery project is due largely to the combined efforts of the project officers and farmers, working together to achieve nest protection, improved habitat management and habitat creation (provision of nest-plots on set-aside land).
English Nature also runs a Wildlife Enhancement Scheme for Breckland Farmland SSSI to assist land managers with their work. Through this scheme English Nature can offer a Management Agreement to provide payment for additional positive management to benefit nesting stone curlews. The scheme provides options for 1191W management designed to improve breeding success and to encourage birds out of crops and on to specially created nest plots.
§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the(a) process and (b) timescale are for the implementation of the Breckland Special Protection Area. [165147]
§ Mr. Bradshaw[holding answer 19 April 2004]: English Nature has undertaken scientific consultations on the case made for the site. Objections were received and one has resulted in a legal challenge. English Nature expects to submit its recommendations once that has been concluded. Once those recommendations are received Ministers will consider any outstanding issues before taking a decision whether the site merits classification as a Special Protection Area.
§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how the(a) boundaries of the Breckland Farmland Site of Special Scientific Interest and (b) proposed boundaries of the Breckland Special Protection Area have been decided. [165129]
§ Mr. BradshawThe information is as follows.
(a) The boundary of the Breckland Farmland Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) was drawn up by English Nature on the basis of the nest records collected under the Stone Curlew Recovery Project, financed jointly by the RSPB and English Nature, for the years 1995 to 1999 inclusive. Areas regularly containing two or more nest sites over this period were included, conservatively using a foraging range of up to 2 km from each nest site. Other features were also taken into account, in particular the need to have boundaries corresponding to physical features such as roads, drains, ditches, field edges or the boundaries of land holdings.
(b) All or parts of 28 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) have been recommended as Breckland potential Special Protection Area (pSPA) because together they support breeding bird populations of three species of European importance.
Breckland SPA qualifies under the EC Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds (79/409/EEC) as it is used regularly by 1 per cent. or more of the Great Britain population of three species of birds listed in Annex 1 of the Directive. They are stone curlew, nightjar and woodlark.
The pSPA boundary was delineated on the basis of records covering stone curlew nests, male woodlarks in forest blocks and in non-forest locations and breeding nightjars. The data spans the period 1992–98, with account taken of 1999 data where available.