10 Dec 2018

Commonwealth countries rally behind ocean action  Momentum continues to build for the Commonwealth’s flagship initiative on ocean issues – the Commonwealth Blue Charter – as countries step up collective efforts to save the seas.  A gathering hosted by the New Zealand High Commission at the Royal Academy of Arts in London on Monday, heard widespread […]

10 Dec 2018

A generalisable integrated natural capital methodology for targeting investment in coastal defence Katrina Davis & colleagues Coastal ecosystems, such as saltmarsh, produce a range of ecosystem services that underpin human well-being. In the UK, and globally, saltmarsh extent and quality is declining due to coastal squeeze, deteriorating water quality, and agricultural activities. Here, we develop […]

10 Dec 2018

Wessex Water has offered to pay £975,000 to achieve equivalent environmental benefits following a series of sewage spills in Swanage Bay, Dorset.  The company also offered £25,000 compensation to Swanage RNLI Lifeboat Station as an impacted third party, taking the total pay-out to £1 million. The payment follows illegal spills in 2016 and 2017 when […]

10 Dec 2018

Fisheries and Conservation Authorities: conduct and operation 2014 to 2018 Sets out the conduct and operation of ten Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs) in England from 2014 to 2018.  This report describes how IFCAs in England have worked in the four years to 31 August 2018. The report has been laid before Parliament by the Secretary […]

10 Dec 2018

A team of pioneering researchers including Professor Richard Thompson OBE, Head of the University of Plymouth’s International Marine Litter Research Unit, has won two prestigious awards for the impact of work highlighting the presence, and potential impacts, of microplastics in our oceans and the marine life they contain. Along with colleagues from the University of Exeter […]

03 Dec 2018

Government proposals to place the environment at the heart of new development have been unveiled by Environment Secretary Michael Gove. In plans published today (2 December 2018) for consultation, developers could be required to deliver a ‘biodiversity net gain’ when building new housing or commercial development – meaning habitats for wildlife must be enhanced and left in […]

03 Dec 2018

Water pollution in the River Thames The Environment Agency’s successful prosecution of Thames Water over a series of major pollution incidents on the River Thames was the subject of a new documentary aired by BBC 1 yesterday. Defenders UK follows the work of enforcement officers from various agencies as they work to protect the public, with the […]