The effectiveness of desperate efforts to contain the environmental impact of Hungary’s worst pollution incident will become clearer over the next few days.  Of course the impact is already massive – and the devastation and wreaked lives in the wake of the flood of toxic sludge is already very real, the Danube does represent a new threshold in spreading the risk beyond Hungary to communities and the environment…

The human toll of the disastrous release of sludge from a huge impoundment storing the waste product of aluminium production in Hungary is shocking and our thoughts are with the communities so grievously affected. 

As frantic efforts continue to contain the impact of this toxic tide, the implications of the wider impact of the disaster are starting to become apparent.  Already two rivers have been affected and a few miles…

The Tana River Delta on Kenya’s coast is at cross-roads.  The massive pressure to exploit the area for growing sugar and biofuel crops amongst other development pressure is forcing an intense campaign to ensure that the delta’s peerless natural environment.  We’ve been following the story here and here.  For biofuels in particular, the pressure on land is mounting in Africa and European governments, including…

A little while ago I wrote about the Our Rivers campaign – and I nominated the River Stour in Kent as both my favourite river (first kingfisher, masses of rivery memories) and I also nominated it as my candidate for most threatened.

Well here’s some positive news – the Environment Agency are planning action to tackle the phosphate pollution that makes part of the river a swirling mass of weed instead of the…

Yesterday I was involved in discussions about two cases we have been following in these posts – the Humber Estuary on England’s east coast and the Kenya’s Dakatcha Woodlands.  In talking about them on the same day, it dawned on me that there were some striking similarities despite their obvious difference.

They are both examples of intense development pressure posing a real risk to the natural environment…

Congratulations to Jamie Wardley for producing this fantastic sand sculpture – there for just a little while then lost beneath the incoming tide. (This picture courtesy of blueriverstudios)

You can see another one here – and read what it was all about.  But to cut a long story short, this creative event drew attention to the fragile natural environment threatened by the development of a new coal-fired power…

Talbot Heath is chunk of high quality habitat right in the heart of Poole – it’s part of the Dorset Heaths Special Protection Area so it’s special and that’s official.  There’s been a lot of work by ourselves and many others to help heathland both in terms of recreating lost areas and ensuring that the best bits are protected from development through the planning system.  And it’s not just…

Yesterday saw the publication of an important and independent review of England’s wildlife sites authored by Sir John Lawton.  The report concludes that our protected areas are too small and too isolated and that this is leading to the loss of the wildlife that makes these areas special.  Climate change will make the situation worse. 

Here’s the news from DEFRA (and from the Guardian) where Secretary of State…

 We’ve followed proposals to build massive (and massively damaging) barrages across several of the UK’s estuaries – the Severn, The Thames, The Mersey and even the Wash.  Some of these proposals have got further than others, but they all follow a familiar pattern, initial enthusiasm, sober reflection and the realisation that the damage and costs are un-sustainable.  On the Wash we are in the early enthusiasm…

 

We’ve spent a lot of time in recent years pointing out that a healthy natural environment is good for business. We’re not the only ones to think so, as shelf-loads of research reports have come to the same conclusion. It’s not just jobs on nature reserves or in rural tourism (which in some areas may be significant themselves), but a whole range of economic sectors depend on a healthy environment.

Have you any cobwebs to blow away?  Do you need to feel the salt wind and watch the wild wings of our returning migrants?  Do you want to see one of the most exciting habitat recreation projects in Europe?

Then I know where you can go this weekend!

I haven’t posted any thing about Wallasea Island for a while, which is very remiss of me, so here’s an invitation to visit the Wild Coast this weekend.

And here…

An earlier post described the threat of road proposal across the northern part of the Serengeti in Tanzania. The devastating impact of the proposed highway is set out in a paper in Nature (you have to subscribe, so here’s the news coverage from the BBC).

If you want to add your voice to the growing campaign to stop this road that could end the planet’s largest remaining terrestrial migration system and cause a…

The Mersey has cropped up a few times on these posts, most recently linked to an invitation to an event at Liverpool University.

People in Liverpool are passionate about their city and its iconic river setting – the Mersey frames one of the most distinctive city skylines in the world.  So it didn’t come as a surprise that over 150 people turned up (and if you were one of them, then thanks for spending your evening…

That’s what the Conservative Party called their proposals for a new planning system in England before the election. Apparently it’s a concept from the software industry, which aims to make computer programming open to all in a highly flexible and adaptable way. We still struggle to understand how that applies to the planning system, but it is clear that their proposals, which are being taken forward by the Coalition…

As summer draws to a close the stream of birds heading south from their arctic breeding grounds will build until our coastal wetlands are thronged with them.  It is the phenomenon of migration that links our world together, a patch of tundra to nest and muddy coastline to find food throughout the winter linked by an energy-sapping flight.  This is the world that sustains millions of wildfowl and waders (like these black…

Looking across Morecambe Bay from Lancashire towards Cumbria with the Lakeland hills mirrored in the shimmering tide its easy to see why this magnificent corner of England is amongst our most treasured landscapes. The rich mix of sea and land for fresh water and salt of low-lying valleys and distinctive hills support a wonderful array of wildlife.  In spring, valleys still support a cast of breeding waders, lapwings and…

What’s your favourite river?  The reason I ask is that the Our Rivers Campaign (which includes the RSPB alongside WWF-UK, The Angling Trust and Salmon and Trout Association) is looking for nominations for both the best and worst rivers in the UK. 

Here’s the link to the site and here’s some coverage of the story.  The period for nominations runs until 31 October 2010. 

It got me thinking – about rivery…

It’s the Saving Special Places blog’s first birthday.  We’ve covered a lot of ground in the last year – both from the UK and further afield, from the Severn to the Serengeti.  Last September Lydd and Hunterston were already prominent cases, one post was entitled ‘Lydd Airport, this one will run and run’, how true.

The top ten most tagged topics have been:

Dungeness 28

Lydd Airport…

Here’s a post-summer holiday trot through developments on some of the stories we’ve been following.

Dungeness.  The purple heron family has taken to the wing and has now left the reserve.  Time will tell if this was a one off event or if these elegant birds return next year.  If they do it will be after the public inquiry into the proposed public inquiry into plans to extend nearby Lydd airport.  The clock is…

Casework can be a bit like the ending of those horror films when the vanquished foe struggles back from the dead for one last attempt to prevent a happy ending.

Well, one real horror story is the prospect of being committed to a high carbon, gas and coal-burning future.  A sticky end that becomes more likely if the coalition Government is really intent on breathing life into the dirty coal business.

News, today, that…

Pond-dipping, reptile walks and bee talks – the wildlife was certainly centre-stage at the Dungeness Wildlife and Countryside Fair over the weekend. The birds didn’t disappoint either with the 6 species of herons on show, great white egret, little egret and cattle egret – the cattle egret even keeping company with the cattle grazing the reserve, grey heron, bittern and purple heron.  There was a constant…

This post merits a cup of tea (if you are planning to read all the links) but it’s a story worth sticking with.

This blog deals with the urgent work of protecting the best wildlife sites from damage  - we’ve ranged widely and have followed cases both in the UK and further afield.  The plight of Kenya’s Dakatcha woodlands has featured as an Important Bird Area at risk of imminent damage – the threat of the clearance…

It’s been a long and anxious wait for the news that the UK’s first purple heron chick has fledged successfully – and here’s the first picture of the youngster taken by Philip Eglise.

At some point soon the purple herons will be heading south to spend the winter in Africa – let’s hope they return next year.  If they do, they will find they have missed the Public Inquiry into the proposed…

In a move that buys a little time for the Dakatcha Woodlands, Kenya’s National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has refused a licence to a 50,000ha biofuels plantation.  At headline level, this looks like good news – and it certainly is a significant outcome of the campaign led by Nature Kenya and the local community. We’ve been following the story on this blog – and you can read more he…