Tag: Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 3 March 2023.

The Environment Secretary calls for countries to join together to halt and reverse the loss of nature and protect at least 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030.

Countries around the globe must join together, raise ambition and act faster to protect and restore nature on both land and sea, Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey has said on World Wildlife Day (3 March).

Following the historic agreement reached at the UN Biodiversity summit last year, the Environment Secretary is attending the Our Ocean conference where she will work with other countries to make this the decade we halt and reverse the loss of nature and protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030. She will also acknowledge the effectiveness of established tools such as CITES convention that celebrates 50 years of protecting endangered species today.

Building on commitments outlined in the Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan launched last month and progress to protect nature on land, the UK is this week announcing vital funding to boost marine conservation efforts worldwide, fight climate change, and support vulnerable coastal communities.

The UK has renewed support through its ambitious £500 million Blue Planet Fund to protect and restore important marine habitats such as mangroves, coral reefs and seagrasses that play a key role in the fight against climate change. This includes an additional £24 million to the Global Fund for Coral Reefs, and the UK becoming the first donor to the Blue Carbon Action Partnership, committing £4 million to support countries unlock and mobilise finance to protect and restore blue carbon ecosystems.

The Environment Secretary has also announced £45 million to the new ‘Blue Tech Superhighway’ project. From community-led fisheries management enabling local communities to set and monitor their own catches; new seawater farming systems working with species more resilient to warmer waters; through to pioneering approaches to reduce food waste, this investment will support small-scale fishers and aquaculture farmers improve their climate resilience, sustainability and incomes. The project will also encourage collaboration between countries across Asia and Africa to scale action.

This comes as the UK announced it will provide £1.5 million to the Asian Development Bank’s new Blue Pacific Finance Hub to support climate resilient, sustainable blue economies for Pacific Small Island Developing States including developing circular economies to reduce plastic waste and improved fisheries management.

The Environment Secretary, Thérèse Coffey said:

It is almost impossible to overstate the importance of stepping up our efforts to bolster the resilience of the marine environment and, in turn, the economies and communities that depend on it.

At the UN nature summit in Montreal, we made a commitment to manage our whole ocean sustainably and set a target to protect at least 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030. The UK is leading, co-leading, and supporting global coalitions of ambition to drive forward this mission, and I urge countries to come together to deliver coordinated, impactful action on the ground.

She also urged more countries to join forces to tackle the scourge of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, one of the most serious threats to the world’s ocean which equates to approximately 11-19% of reported global fisheries production and leads to losses of roughly $10-23.5 billion in value. IUU fishing undermines efforts to conserve fish stocks, damages marine ecosystems, impacts global food supply chains and threatens coastal communities whose livelihoods rely on sustainable fishing.

The UK, US and Canada launched the world’s first global alliance to tackle IUU fishing last year, with members sharing data and tools to monitor and crack down on this pervasive issue. This builds on progress under the UK-led Blue Belt Ocean Shield programme which uses innovative surveillance techniques to tackle illegal practices in over 4.3 million square kilometres of waters around the UK Overseas Territories.

Since its launch, the Alliance has grown to 16 members, with Norway, Iceland and Korea recently coming onboard. More members will sign up at the Our Ocean conference today, including the EU, Panama and New Zealand.

Thérèse Coffey said:

For too many communities, the threat of IUU fishing looms year after year, as they bear the brunt of the instability and violence that accompanies this serious, organised, transboundary crime.

For marine species, the impact can be devastating and this has a catastrophic effect on the lives of the hundreds of millions of people who depend on fisheries for their livelihoods.

So, we need to accelerate our efforts and scale up. That is a priority for us in the UK –  something we are addressing by improving import controls, sharing more data on vessels, identifying those who profit from IUU fishing, and holding them to account.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 1 March 2023.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 28 February 2023.

Reporting requirements for the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme for packaging come into force today.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 28 February 2023.

Oxfordshire water contamination “reckless failure” – judge.

Thames Water has been fined £2million after raw sewage polluted two Oxfordshire streams, killing almost 150 fish. The sewage also flooded a nearby garden.

Judge Peter Ross, at Oxford Crown Court on 21 December, ruled the incident in 2015 as a high-end, category three harm offence.

Numerous failures in the management of a sewage pumping station operated by the company led to sewage created by two villages emptying into two brooks leading to the River Evenlode, a tributary of the River Thames, for up to 24 hours.

Judge Ross found Thames Water were “reckless” in polluting Idbury and Littlestock brooks at Milton-under-Wychwood, near Chipping Norton, on 8 and 9 August 2015.

Environment Agency officers were quickly on site, discovering the entire local population of almost 150 bullhead fish had been killed by the toxic waste along a 50-metre stretch of water.

A member of the public reported dead fish in Idbury brook to the Environment Agency. A backlog of raw sewage was forced into the water from a sewer pipe that couldn’t hold it. Sewage also escaped from a manhole and onto a residential front garden.

The court heard Thames Water disregarded more than 800 high-priority alarms needing attention within four hours in the six weeks before the incident. Another 300 alarms were not properly investigated, all of which would have pointed out failures with the pumping station. One alarm was deliberately deactivated during a night shift.

Investigations by the Environment Agency revealed Thames Water was aware the pumping station failed several times in the 12 months up to and including the incident in August 2015.

Robert Davis, who led the investigation for the Environment Agency, said:

This incident was foreseeable and avoidable. Thames Water didn’t recognise the increased risk to the environment, ignoring or failing to respond adequately to more than 1,000 alarms.

These streams are normally a haven for kingfishers, grey herons, brown trout and other fish and invertebrates. Sewage poured into the water for 24 hours, having a terrible impact, killing fish and other water life.

We hope this prosecution sends a loud and clear message that the Environment Agency will not accept poor operation, management and maintenance of sewage pumping stations. Where we have evidence of offending and serious pollution incidents like here, we will take appropriate action to bring polluters to justice.

Judge Ross said Thames Water was ‘reckless’ by taking an unacceptable level of risk with the environment. It allowed the sewage pumping station to operate with no automatically available standby pump for around 10 months in the year prior to the pollution.

Environment Agency officers discovered other information and data highlighting repeated problems with the pumping station in the year before the pollution, which Thames Water failed to report to the Environment Agency.

Judge Ross ordered Thames Water to pay full costs of £79,991.57. The company pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to two charges of breaching environmental law.

N.B. In the days following the hearing in 2018, judge Ross reduced the £2m fine to £1.8m after directing Thames Water to pay the remaining £200,000 to three local charities, the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, the Evenlode Catchment Partnership and the Wychwood Project.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 28 February 2023.

Government today announces three Highly Protected Marine Areas will be designated by July 2023.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 27 February 2023.

The Great Britain Invasive Non-Native Species strategy sets out enhanced vision on prevention, eradication and management of invasive non-native species.

A new action plan to protect Great Britain’s biodiversity, ecosystems and economy from the growing risks posed by invasive non-native species will be unveiled by Defra today (27 February), in partnership with the Scottish and Welsh Governments.

Non-native species are one of the top five drivers of biodiversity loss globally with new figures showing an estimated cost to the British economy of £1.84 billion per year. There are currently around 2000 non-native species in Britain with 10-12 new species establishing themselves every year.

They disrupt habitats and ecosystems, prey on or out-compete native species, spread disease and interfere with the genetic integrity of native species

Climate change is expected to increase the risks from new non-native species due to more frost-free winters and increased flooding events. Habitats that are suffering for degradation may also be more vulnerable to invasion and disease, increasing the risk to biodiverse natural habitats.

The newly updated Invasive Non-Native Species Strategy sets out a new framework for tackling the existing and growing threat posed  non-native species with a commitment to reduce establishments of non-native species by at least 50 per cent compared to 2000 levels, in line with the internationally agreed CBD Target 6 on Invasive Alien Species.

This follows work to date to mitigate invasive species. Since 2015 we have eliminated the American Bullfrog from Great Britain and there are successful eradication programmes in place for the Ruddy Duck and Topmouth Gudgeon, a type of freshwater fish.

Preventing, eradicating and managing invasive non-native species will underpin the delivery of the strategy domestically with enhanced alignment across Great Britain and with other biosecurity regimes, such as plant health.

Specific actions include increased capacity for inspections at the border and post-border, further assessment of the most high-risk routes and mechanisms for the introduction and spread of Invasive Non-Native Species and further improvements to our rapid response systems.

Lord Benyon, Minister for Biosecurity, said:

Invasive species threaten the natural world and our economy. Today’s announcement demonstrates this Government’s unwavering commitment to protecting against these species, for the immediate benefit of the country and future generations.

Through coordinated actions across Great Britain to prevent the arrival of new non-native species and tackle the impacts of those established – we can minimise the potentially devasting environmental and economic impacts these species cause. A vigilant public can also play a key role and report any suspicious sightings of new invasive species to ensure it is accurately identified.

Scotland’s Biodiversity Minister Lorna Slater said:

This refreshed strategy will enable continued collaboration between the devolved governments to tackle the spread of invasive species and the harms these can cause to native wildlife, our natural environment and even our economy. It will complement our new Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, which recognises invasive non-native species as a major driver in biodiversity loss and sets out the actions we are pursuing to control and eradicate them.

Here in Scotland we are also funding a number of large-scale projects to control invasive species through our Nature Restoration Fund as well as developing a range of measures aimed at tackling established INNS such as Rhododendron, whose spread is a major threat to native woodlands including Atlantic Rainforest.

Minister for Rural Affairs Lesley Griffiths said:

I welcome the launch of this strategy. Invasive non-native species can pose a significant threat to our environment, and this threat is likely to be increased by climate change. The strategy sets out actions to help protect biodiversity, people and the economy from invasive non-native species.

This strategy delivers on commitments set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan to deliver a refreshed Invasive Non-Native Species Strategy. It follows the publication of the Plant Biosecurity Strategy last year which set out a five-year vision for plant health, consisting of an action plan to secure national biosecurity, protect native species and drive economic growth.

The strategy also emphasises the collective role and responsibilities we all have in upholding high standards of biosecurity, for example by cleaning equipment that has been used in one environment before moving it to another, and the importance of choosing and planting the right plants and trees in our gardens to avoid the spread of invasive non-native species. The public can report any suspicious sightings of new invasive species via iRecord, which is a tool to bring together wildlife sightings from many sources, so that they can be checked by experts and made available to support research and decision-making. These messages align with long running UK Government awareness raising campaigns: ‘Check Clean Dry’ and ‘Be Plant Wise’.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 20 February 2023.

The Climate Change Hub was launched by Defra, Forest Research, Scottish Forestry and Welsh Government today.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 20 February 2023.

Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey has today (Monday 20 February) demanded water companies share plans on improving Britain’s water infrastructure.

The fresh move is part of the drive for better water quality, building on significant work with industry and regulators, allowing government to track progress of investment and new projects.

The Environment Secretary has demanded a clear assessment & action plan on every storm overflow from every water and sewerage company in England, prioritising those that are spilling more than a certain number of times a year, and those spilling into bathing waters and high priority nature sites.

She has also set out more detail on how water companies will face higher penalties that are quicker and easier to enforce.

Any water company caught illegally polluting our waters currently faces enforcement action from the Environment Agency. This can range from Enforcement Undertakings – companies paying to restore damage to the environment – through to prosecution in the courts.

The most serious cases are dealt with through criminal prosecutions. Fines of more than £102 million were handed out in 2021. Last year it was announced that money from these fines will be re-invested into schemes that benefit the environment, rather than being returned to the Treasury.

However, prosecutions can take a long time to bring to a conclusion. That is why the government is consulting on making it easier and quicker for penalties to be issued so that polluters are made to pay immediately when damage is caused to our rivers and seas.

On the upper limit of fines, all options – including £250 million – remain on the table. There will be a public consultation in the spring to find an upper limit that is a real and serious deterrent.

Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey said:

“People are concerned about the impacts of sewage entering our rivers and seas and I am crystal clear that this is totally unacceptable.

We need to be clear that this is not a new problem. Storm overflows have existed for over a century. The law has always allowed for discharges, subject to regulation. That is how our Victorian sewers are built – wastewater and rain are carried in the same pipe. When it reaches a certain height, it pours into another pipe and into rivers.

And while we have done more about it than any other government – we were the first government to require companies to start comprehensively monitoring spillage so that we could see what was actually going on – there is still significant work to do.

Through the largest infrastructure programme in water company history we will tackle the problem at source, with more investment on projects like the new Thames Tideway super sewer. I am making sure that regulators have the powers they need to take action when companies don’t follow the rules, including higher penalties that are quicker and easier to enforce.

I am now demanding every company to come back to me with a clear plan for what they are doing on every storm overflow, prioritising those near sites where people swim and our most precious habitats.”

The Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan, published last year, required water companies to deliver the largest infrastructure programme in water company history – £56 billion capital investment over 25 years.

More detail on the government’s plans to deliver clean and plentiful water were also set out last month in its Environmental Improvement Plan 2023, a five-year strategy for a cleaner, greener country.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 14 February 2023.

Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey will call on both the UK and US to continue to stand together to a forge a more secure and sustainable future for agriculture.

In a speech at the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) Winter Conference in Washington DC later today (15 February), the Environment Secretary will outline how UK and US co-operation is vital to promote sustainable food production and global food security and will pay tribute to the farmers of Ukraine.

NASDA plays a crucial role in US agriculture, with representatives from the Departments of Agriculture in all 50 States and four US territories. The speech will be the first time a foreign minister has addressed the conference – demonstrating the strength of UK and US collaboration on sustainable agriculture, food security and improving nature and biodiversity.

This follows the recent launch of the Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan – the five year delivery plan to halt and reverse the decline in nature. The Environment Secretary is expected to highlight how ensuring nature and food production go hand-in-hand is a vital, shared goal between the two countries, with both developing landmark reforms to incentivise and reward environmental stewardship, while also harnessing new markets and tackling threats posed to food security by climate change.

Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey is expected to say:

It is vitally important that we continue to stand together, in defence of the freedom, democracy, and common decency that our nations treasure so deeply. We must also continue to work together to forge a more secure, more sustainable future for agriculture. We must strengthen the resilience of our environment, our businesses, and our communities, and improve the prosperity and food security of every generation to come.

Farmers are the original friends of the earth, the first to understand that making space for nature can and must go alongside food production. This is not mutually exclusive, but absolutely symbiotic. Working with nature – not against it – is the natural instinct of every farmer I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.

As we work together to promote sustainable food production, we need to commend the immense contribution farming makes to our communities, and the sheer grit, ingenuity and determination it takes to keep us fed.

The Environment Secretary will also pay tribute to farmers in the breadbasket of Europe, Ukraine, for their efforts in continuing to promote food security across the globe, and will outline the UK’s continued support to Ukraine.

Thérèse Coffey is expected to add:

Amidst the turmoil of war, it is truly extraordinary that the farmers of Ukraine have managed to get so much of the 2022 harvest in. At a time when Ukrainians themselves are suffering so much, the initiative to get grain from Ukraine, to some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world, is an act of global humanity at its very best.

I was proud to send a contribution to support those efforts, on behalf of our government and our people, as I know the United States have done as well. This forms part of the wider support that we are sending to Ukraine, and the work that the UK has led through the G7 to help identify stolen grain and frustrate Russia’s efforts to profit from that theft.

During her trip to the US, the Environment Secretary also met with US government officials, Senators, and CEOs from agri-tech start-ups. She also visited a brewery which makes craft beers from a combination of American and imported British ingredients, North Carolina State University’s new plant science facility and the Alexandria AgTech Innovation Centre.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 10 February 2023.

The projects range from practical courses in seafood preparation or manning fishing boats through to degree level qualifications.