Return of Set-Aside Schemes for Farmers

Environment secretary, Hilary Benn has announced new proposals to bring back payments for farmers who set aside areas of uncultivated land to promote biodiversity and environmental benefits.

The system of subsiding farmers for setting-aside areas of land from agricultural production was introduced in the 1980’s in order to curtail over-production, which had generated food surpluses and caused a dramatic reduction in some commodity prices.

The scheme was effectively abolished by the European Commission in 2008 after harvests were devastated by extensive flooding and global food prices began to soar. Environmental groups and conservationists did not welcome the decision as the uncultivated land provided a vital source of food and refuge for wildlife in agricultural landscapes, especially birds.

In a speech to the National Farmers' Union conference in Birmingham later today, Benn is expected to propose two possible options; a mandatory scheme requiring a minimum area land to be set aside with incentives to expand, and an entirely voluntary scheme. A decision is expected in the summer.

"I welcome the idea of a voluntary scheme, led by the industry, if we can be sure that it will deliver," he is expected to say.

Read more about this issue on the Guardian news website
Updates on the NFU conference can be found here

Countryside Survey 2007: Results Available

The results of the 2007 Countryside Survey have been released this morning, with the report published electronically on the Survey website. The report will be launched formally later today with a series of presentations and discussions, begun with a keynote speech by the Secretary of State for the environment, Hilary Benn.

In commenting on the results of the survey to the Times, Dr Peter Carey, the report's lead author and a member of both the BES Council and Public and Policy Committee, said that; "The overriding message from the 2007 results is that previous intensive management of the countryside has relaxed over the past 30 years and particularly during the nine years since the last survey.”

A shift by farmers to less intensive management of their land, through set-aside schemes and the conversion of arable fields to grassland, has led to an increase in the abundance of brambles, nettles and hawthorn. This is good news for some bird and mammal species but less beneficial to low-lying plants which are crowded out by these weeds.

From 1998- 2007, the number of species of arable plant found on agricultural land increased by 30%, indicating farmers' increased tolerance for weeds on their land. Conservationists are concerned that the recent decision by the EU to scrap the set-aside scheme could remove the incentive for farmers to encourage the growth of such species.

The BES Science Policy Team will attend the launch of the Survey results and will post further information about this on the Blog in due course.

Avoiding Imminent North Sea Cod Extinction

Cod is historically one of the most popular commercial fish species in the UK, not to mention popular across the European continent. Because of this, major commercial fisheries have been forced to close, and existing fisheries may also soon face closure.

Exacerbated by the mismatch in timing of their young's main food source, the copepod, caused by predicted warming events, Cod face an uncertain future.

If cod populations disappear completely, it is likely that 'trophic cascade' events could occur, i.e. the food chain within the broader community could be severely disrupted, as happened when the Canadian cod stocks collapsed.

A recent review paper published in Biology Letters suggests that fisheries management should be at the species-fishery scale, rather than a broad species-specific approach to management. The motivations for the author's suggestion lie in the considerable variability in genetic make-up and spawning aggregations between different cod populations, and the potential for small meta-populations to crash without being detected, since these are amalgamated with the whole population. Therefore data collection should be accurate and well-timed for effective management.

Targeted conservation measures are recommended to policy-makers where appropriate, however the socio-economic consequences of any decisions made must be given serious consideration.

Blog Readers are invited to comment on this article!

Source: Hutchinson, W.F. (2008). The dangers of ignoring stock complexity in fishery management: the case of the North Sea cod. Biology Letters. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2008.0443

Related Material:

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/1299&format=PDF&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

Defra Launches Wildlife Management Strategy for England

Defra have launched an enquiry to investigate what is the best method of sustainably managing England's wildlife.

Up until recently, the government has had a piecemeal approach to nature conservation, with only certain species and habitats being afforded protection. This philosophy is to be superceded by Defra's recent holistic approach to Nature conservation. Defra has therefore decided to launch a more comprehensive strategy to conserve wildlife in England, and will shortly be consulting on this strategy.

The new approach aims to be more strategic, and will look at how wildlife impacts on people vice versa. One of the key components of the strategy is taking a decision-tree approach, to provide a mechanism for policy review and development. The hope is this approach will create a structured framework so that a consistent approach to wildlife conservation is used across the board, whilst allowing scope for flexibility within the framework.

The consultation document can be found here:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/wildlife-manage-strategy/consultation.pdf

The closing date for responses is 22nd September 2008.