Old Codger
2008-01-22 08:10:21 UTC
For years we have been warning the UK that millions of pounds in
donations and grants were being wasted by CONservation hooligans like
the RSPB, Woodland Trusts, English Nature, SNH etc slaughtering and
destroying habitats for scapegoat species like fox, rabbits, grey
squirrels, brown and black rats,ruddy ducks and even our endangered
hedgehogs were being slaughtered on the Uists all at huge cost to the
taxpayer and public at large.
Now the CONservation hooligans are screaming because the money is
drying up. The golden goose has died and we're left with a wasteland
in conservation where so much could have been done but wasn't!
This is what happens when you let Pro Hunt groups like the RSPB and
DEFRA handle conservation issues.
Over £1.6billion wasted in the last decade on slaughtering wildlife
and table top CONservation based on Nazi style ethics. So much time
and money has been spent persecuting various species that there is
nothing left for genuine conservation.
Remember that next time you see a CONservation hooligan holding it's
hand out, even if it does live in a mansion in Sandy Beds!
************************
Natural England cuts spark alarm
Butterfly Conservation fears that budget cuts could undermine Natural
England, the agency overseeing and funding biodiversity and wildlife
protection.
***********************
Funding cuts put English conservation work under threat
See the species and habitats that would be affected by the cuts here
John Vidal guardian.co.uk, Wednesday November 7 2007
Programmes to conserve the habitats of some of Britain's most
endangered species, like the skylark, would be cancelled under
proposed cuts to Natural England.
Years of nature protection could be put on hold or reversed if
proposed cuts of 15-30% to the budget for conserving England's most
beautiful places and wildlife are pushed through in the next few
weeks.
Proposals seen by the Guardian show that the Department of the
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is proposing to slash the
budget of Natural England, its statutory independent nature advisers.
The organisation was set up one year ago by Defra to protect wildlife,
maintain nature reserves, and improve the state of Britain's most
important natural places.
It is understood that Natural England's £51m budget for new
conservation work would be reduced by 15% this year with deeper cuts
expected later. The organisation is also being forced by the Treasury
to repay the £16m spent setting it up and to meet 2% across the board
efficiency cuts
One option being considered by Defra is to cut:
£4m from improving Britain's most important sites of sites of
special scientific interest (SSSIs). These are already in poor
condition and the government is certain to not fulfil its election
pledges if it cuts the budget;
£2m making access to the countryside easier for ethnic minorities
and others. This is considered vital to make the countryside
accessible to all;
£2m to improve and maintain areas designated as being of
"outstanding natural beauty";
£2m to enhance national nature reserves. These are in danger of
being neglected;
£700,000 on scientific research.
In addition, programmes to conserve the habitats of some Britain's
most endangered "flagship" species would be cancelled. These might
include the dormouse, the stone curlew, the otter, rare orchids and
other birds and mammals.
If the cuts go ahead it could set back conservation many years, say
environmentalists.
"When money gets tight, it's always the environment and biodiversity
in particular that suffers. Natural England was set up by this
government and now it looks as if it is being strangled," said Mark
Avery, the director of conservation at the RSPB.
"It would seriously undermine protection of the most important and
cherished places and wildlife in England just at the time when the
value of the environment is being recognised for the benefits it
brings to health and the economy", said a government source.
Natural England has a nominal budget of more than £450m but this is
almost entirely ringfenced with payments to farmers and landowners.
Any cuts imposed by Defra would have to have to come from the £51m the
organisation has to spend on new work.
Defra itself has been given a below-inflation increase of 1.4% in its
£3.8bn budget over the next three years as part of the Treasury's
comprehensive spending review. But more than £200m of this increase
has been earmarked for improved flood defences after this year wet
weather, and much of the rest has been set aside to help councils
recycle more waste to meet EU targets.
The department has also had to pick up the unexpected costs of the
latest foot and mouth and blue tongue disease outbreaks and has not
fully recovered from the £200m cuts imposed by the Treasury last year
following late farm payments.
"No final decisions on the corporate spending review budget allocation
have yet been made. Protecting and enhancing the environment of course
remains an absolutely key priority for Defra," a spokeswoman for the
department said yesterday.
donations and grants were being wasted by CONservation hooligans like
the RSPB, Woodland Trusts, English Nature, SNH etc slaughtering and
destroying habitats for scapegoat species like fox, rabbits, grey
squirrels, brown and black rats,ruddy ducks and even our endangered
hedgehogs were being slaughtered on the Uists all at huge cost to the
taxpayer and public at large.
Now the CONservation hooligans are screaming because the money is
drying up. The golden goose has died and we're left with a wasteland
in conservation where so much could have been done but wasn't!
This is what happens when you let Pro Hunt groups like the RSPB and
DEFRA handle conservation issues.
Over £1.6billion wasted in the last decade on slaughtering wildlife
and table top CONservation based on Nazi style ethics. So much time
and money has been spent persecuting various species that there is
nothing left for genuine conservation.
Remember that next time you see a CONservation hooligan holding it's
hand out, even if it does live in a mansion in Sandy Beds!
************************
Natural England cuts spark alarm
Butterfly Conservation fears that budget cuts could undermine Natural
England, the agency overseeing and funding biodiversity and wildlife
protection.
***********************
Funding cuts put English conservation work under threat
See the species and habitats that would be affected by the cuts here
John Vidal guardian.co.uk, Wednesday November 7 2007
Programmes to conserve the habitats of some of Britain's most
endangered species, like the skylark, would be cancelled under
proposed cuts to Natural England.
Years of nature protection could be put on hold or reversed if
proposed cuts of 15-30% to the budget for conserving England's most
beautiful places and wildlife are pushed through in the next few
weeks.
Proposals seen by the Guardian show that the Department of the
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is proposing to slash the
budget of Natural England, its statutory independent nature advisers.
The organisation was set up one year ago by Defra to protect wildlife,
maintain nature reserves, and improve the state of Britain's most
important natural places.
It is understood that Natural England's £51m budget for new
conservation work would be reduced by 15% this year with deeper cuts
expected later. The organisation is also being forced by the Treasury
to repay the £16m spent setting it up and to meet 2% across the board
efficiency cuts
One option being considered by Defra is to cut:
£4m from improving Britain's most important sites of sites of
special scientific interest (SSSIs). These are already in poor
condition and the government is certain to not fulfil its election
pledges if it cuts the budget;
£2m making access to the countryside easier for ethnic minorities
and others. This is considered vital to make the countryside
accessible to all;
£2m to improve and maintain areas designated as being of
"outstanding natural beauty";
£2m to enhance national nature reserves. These are in danger of
being neglected;
£700,000 on scientific research.
In addition, programmes to conserve the habitats of some Britain's
most endangered "flagship" species would be cancelled. These might
include the dormouse, the stone curlew, the otter, rare orchids and
other birds and mammals.
If the cuts go ahead it could set back conservation many years, say
environmentalists.
"When money gets tight, it's always the environment and biodiversity
in particular that suffers. Natural England was set up by this
government and now it looks as if it is being strangled," said Mark
Avery, the director of conservation at the RSPB.
"It would seriously undermine protection of the most important and
cherished places and wildlife in England just at the time when the
value of the environment is being recognised for the benefits it
brings to health and the economy", said a government source.
Natural England has a nominal budget of more than £450m but this is
almost entirely ringfenced with payments to farmers and landowners.
Any cuts imposed by Defra would have to have to come from the £51m the
organisation has to spend on new work.
Defra itself has been given a below-inflation increase of 1.4% in its
£3.8bn budget over the next three years as part of the Treasury's
comprehensive spending review. But more than £200m of this increase
has been earmarked for improved flood defences after this year wet
weather, and much of the rest has been set aside to help councils
recycle more waste to meet EU targets.
The department has also had to pick up the unexpected costs of the
latest foot and mouth and blue tongue disease outbreaks and has not
fully recovered from the £200m cuts imposed by the Treasury last year
following late farm payments.
"No final decisions on the corporate spending review budget allocation
have yet been made. Protecting and enhancing the environment of course
remains an absolutely key priority for Defra," a spokeswoman for the
department said yesterday.