UK environmental watchdogs have announced investigations into arms of the governments in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland for possible failures to comply with bird protection laws, in a move seen as significant.
Public body the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) is investigating the environmental departments of England and Northern Ireland for potentially failing to implement recommendations from public bodies to protect areas for wild birds, it said Monday.
Environmental Standards Scotland is investigating “similar” issues in Scotland, while the Interim Environmental Protection Assessor for Wales (IEPAW) has “shared concerns”, OEP said in a press release.
“The ESS investigation, our own investigations in England and Northern Ireland, along with the concerns of IEPAW, demonstrates this is a UK-wide issue that requires attention,” Natalie Prosser, CEO of OEP, said.
“It is significant that today marks the beginning of three investigations in three different countries, on the same important environmental issue.”
The OEP investigation will seek to determine whether the English environmental government departments have failed to comply with environmental law relating to Special Protection Areas (SPAs) for wild birds on land. These zones differ from the international concept of Protected Areas (PAs), which focus on long-term conservation outcomes in general.
The investigation will consider “possible failures” to implement recommendations from conservation public bodies, like the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), on the classification and adaptation of SPAs, OEP said.
On land England had approximately 970,000 hectares of SPAs in 2022, Scotland had 1.7 mln ha, and Northern Ireland had 113,000 ha, according to the JNCC website.
“Our investigation will seek to establish whether the recommendations of previous SPA reviews, such as one that was published in 2001, have been fully implemented and if not, the reasons why,” Prosser said.
“The background to our investigation is that recommendations from another review carried out between 2015 and 2017 have yet to be published. Another step in that review, which may include classifications of new SPAs and the adaptation of existing SPAs, has yet to begin.”
OEP can use enforcement powers including court proceedings against the government if it finds failures to comply with environmental law, though it will first seek to resolve any issues through dialogue.
Richard Broadbent, director at law firm Freeths, said the move was “significant” as it will give an insight into what post-Brexit environmental investigations will look like.
“We might see the OEP taking a more hands-on approach to potential domestic environmental law failings than the European Commission used to do in its infraction cases,” he said in a post on LinkedIn.
The watchdog will also seek to understand the progress of SPA reviews in the marine environment, it said. England had over 747,000 ha of SPA offshore over two sites in 2022.
Legally designated SPAs protect rare and threatened birds in the UK such as curlew, bittern, and tern.
Wild bird populations are in decline across England, with 70 species on the most recent Birds of Conservation Concern Red List from 2021 – almost double the number from 25 years before.
By Thomas Cox – t.cox@carbon-pulse.com
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