19 Feb 2018

Steve Hull, ABPmer The long awaited UK Government’s 25 year Environment Plan was published in January. This makes some interesting and welcome general commitments: We will set gold standards in protecting and growing natural capital – leading the world in using this approach as a tool in decision-making. We will seek to embed a ‘net […]

01 Feb 2018

The EAC inquiry so soon after publication can’t be what Defra had hoped for, but it’s what happens if you don’t get the process right – not consulting on it for example. Although it is a ‘short inquiry’ people should take the chance to tell EAC what they think of the plan. There are six […]

01 Feb 2018

The latest set of UK natural capital accounts have just been published, estimating the volume of services and value of Britain’s natural capital between 1997 and 2015. According to the accounts, the partial asset value of UK natural capital was estimated to be £761 billion in 2015. 58% of this value was attributable to cultural […]

25 Jan 2018

Defra is holding a consultation on the proposed new Invasive Alien Species Regulations. Background: The EU Invasive Alien Species Regulation came into force in 2015. It currently applies restrictions on 49 invasive non-native species of most concern in Europe including a ban on keeping and sale. This consultation sets out proposals for enforcing those restrictions […]

22 Jan 2018

Minister’s speech at Coastal Futures 2018   Guardian – Fiona Harvey – Government to carry out major environmental assessment of UK seas Defra prioritises post-Brexit fisheries plan and protection of UK’s coldwater reefs, promising data will be made publicly available online. An assessment of the seas around the UK will carried out by the government and […]

10 Jan 2018

It is a rare event indeed when a British Prime Minister presents a major initiative on the environment but that is what has happened today. The report is much more than about plastic pollution which captured the headlines but this a positive move beyond David Cameron’s infamous ‘green crap’ approach. Publication ends the decline and […]

10 Jan 2018

Gove – Oxford Farming conference speech on reform of agricultural subsidy. It is a long read but there is a clear series of statements on, “Paying for what we value” later on in the speech. “The principal public good we will invest in is of course environmental enhancement. In thinking about how better to support […]