Archived May 2002
JNCC advice to DETR on species
legislation
The following paper is the advice given to the Department of
the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) in December 1999
(before the publication of the Wildlife Bill), on behalf of the
statutory conservation agencies, concerning the effectiveness of
species protection legislation in Britain. This paper contains
background briefing, advice on species protection issues and
includes six main recommendations. The advice is supported by
additional recommendations, which are intended to improve the
operation of wildlife legislation by clarifying wording and by
reconciling differences between the Habitats Regulations 1994 and
the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Contact point:
Dr Ian McLean
Head of Species Advice
E-mail:
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document.
List of main
recommendations
Recommendation
1: In relation to specially-protected species listed on
Schedules 1, 5 and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, the word
'intentionally' where it occurs be replaced by the words
'intentionally, knowingly or negligently'.
Recommendation
2: The country agencies be given an enabling power to
enter into Management Agreements outside SSSIs where this is
necessary for the purposes of nature conservation.
Recommendation
3: The Secretary of State, and the National Assembly for
Wales, be given the power to make an Order which prevents any
person from carrying out an activity on land specified in the Order
which is likely to cause harm to a species listed on Schedules 1, 5
or 8 of the 1981 Act, or to their Habitats, without consent. This
legal provision could exempt actions undertaken with the benefit of
planning consent, or which were undertaken in an emergency. Land
damaged in contravention of such an Order could be made subject to
a restoration provision.
Recommendation
4: The next Quinquennial Review should take into account
the number of species to be included on Schedules 5 and 8 in
relation to the other mechanisms now available for conserving
species (including Action Plans prepared in order to implement the
Convention on Biological Diversity in the United Kingdom) and in
relation to the desirability of maintaining awareness of which
species are protected. At the same time the benefits of legal
protection should be retained for those species liable to
persecution.
Recommendation
5: Section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981
should be amended to make it an offence to release, allow to
escape, or cause to grow in the wild, any plant or micro-organism
which is not ordinarily resident in, or a regular visitor to, Great
Britain in a wild state. Provided such action was not undertaken
recklessly, we would exempt from this provision plants grown for
agriculture, horticulture, forestry or in gardens and
micro-organisms used for specified purposes (for example, medicine,
veterinary medicine, brewing and food processing).
Recommendation
6: We would propose that Schedule 9 Part II be made
available for listing of specified micro-organisms (as well as
plants), where such listing is necessary for protecting the
environment, and that the sale of plants and micro-organisms listed
on Schedule 9 Part II be prohibited except under licence.
For more information on
the Countryside and Rights of Way Bill or the statutory
conservation agencies
www.english-nature.org.uk