Marine Conservation - let's Step Up for Nature and hold the Government to account

Tuesday morning saw a group of RSPB supporters Stepping up for Nature and converging
on Church House in Westminster to meet with Richard Benyon, Under-Secretary for
the Natural Environment & Fisheries. In that role he has responsibility
for, among other things, biodiversity, wildlife and the Marine & Coastal
Access Act – and the purpose of our meeting with him was to discuss the issue
of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) under that Act.  I was very pleased to be part of that RSPB group
given the opportunity to hold the Minister to account on this issue.

On 15 November, Mr Benyon had announced that the decision on
the 127 MCZs put forward, was to be delayed because of “gaps” in the scientific
evidence base. This delay is worrying for everyone who cares about marine life
and I was keen to try to get some answers on what this meant for the overall
timetable – what the government was going to do to ensure that these “gaps”
were filled as quickly as possible, decisions made on designating MCZs – and then
action taken.

Mr Benyon told us that he was keen to put in place an
ecologically coherent network of MCZs and that he believed that for about a
quarter of the 127 proposed MCZs, there was already adequate (or nearly
adequate) scientific evidence – so it should not take long to look at these and
be ready to make decisions. For the others, he told us he had commissioned
further work in Defra to collect evidence, including work to look at the
protection of mobile species (which may not have been properly covered by the
127 zones put forward but are now being considered thanks to comments by RSPB
and others). In his answers he said that decisions should be possible on the
first MCZs by early 2013 (with decisions on other areas a few months later).
Unfortunately he was not able to tell us when the protection and practical
action would then be in place, but he did indicate that he expected in the
region of 20%+ of our waters to be covered by zones when adopted.

Overall, I was pleased with Mr Benyon’s responses – he came
across as someone who is keen to ensure that the MCZs come into force – and are
sustainable, credible and have the positive effect we are all looking for.
Whether there is sufficient support for this elsewhere in Government remains to
be seen – but as his positive statements came just hours before the Chancellor’s
threats of attack on the Habitats Regulations, I think all RSPB members will
want to keep a close eye on progress on MCZs and ensure that Mr Benyon keeps
his promises.