Amid the political maelstrom surrounding Brexit this week, Philip Hammond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, delivered a Spring Statement today which gave us grounds for cautious optimism.
As I commented previously, even with existing levels of protection and funding we have failed to halt the loss of biodiversity, let alone made a serious progress with its recovery. Even the UK Government’s own (slightly rose-tinted) assessment (expressed through this week’s publication of the UK’s Sixth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity) says that more progress is required.
While we have warmly welcomed the ambitious environmental commitments made by Theresa May and Michael Gove in the 25 Year Environment Plan (including to restore nature in a generation), these will only be met if strong commitments from all four UK governments are underpinned by the right laws, policies, penalties, enforcement powers but also the necessary funding.
Today, it seems that this message is getting through. Here are few things that grabbed our attention.
First, announcing a global review of the economic benefits of biodiversity, Mr Hammond made the welcome statement that “there is an economic as well as an environmental case for protecting the diversity of the natural world”.
The written statement clarifies that the review – due to report in 2020 before the crucial meeting of the conference of the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity - is designed to “identify measures which both enhance biodiversity and deliver economic prosperity”.
This will by no means be the first such review, with previous initiatives, including the global, “The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB)” initiative, and the UK-wide National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA) significantly expanding our knowledge of the of the benefits the natural environment provides to society and continuing economic prosperity.
We’ll do what we can to engage with this review, but I am confident that it will conclude that the natural environment contributes significantly to our economic prosperity. For example, the NEA found that in Scotland and Wales, the estimated contribution of natural environment-related activities to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 11% and 9%, respectively, and that these activities also accounted for 11% of jobs in Scotland and, in Wales, 16% of jobs and 10% of all wage and salary income.
Second, the chancellor also announced a call for evidence “inviting creative ideas… on how the Government can safeguard the biodiversity found in the Overseas Territories”. This is also welcome: these amazing places are home to some of the UK’s most iconic environments and unique species. The RSPB will be delighted to contribute some creative ideas and look forward to engaging with this review.
Third, the Chancellor announced that he would support the Ascension Island Council, a small UK Overseas Territory in the tropical Atlantic, in their call to receive long-term funding in order to declare 100% of their rich waters a highly protected Ocean Sanctuary, with no fishing allowed. This is fantastic news and gives the local Councillors the financial certainty they were looking for before they made a final decision on the MPA.
The RSPB has been working with Ascension on marine protection since 2012, and it was a joy to see seven years of work result in specific inclusion in a Budget Statement, testament also to our wonderful collaborators in the Great British Oceans coalition. The local Council can now protect amazing ocean wildlife (as shown by Paul Colley's fantastic photo above), including the second largest green turtle nesting site in the Atlantic, record-breaking marlin, threatened tuna, vulnerable sharks, and foraging grounds for one of the most important tropical seabird breeding islands on the planet.
Fourth, the Chancellor said “we will be ensuring the delivery of much-needed infrastructure and housing is not at the expense of vital biodiversity”. He confirmed that the way he would do this is by mandating biodiversity net gain for development in England. Again, we welcome this and our detailed comments on net gain can be found here.
This felt like a very different statement from the Treasury. You cannot have a green government with a grey Chancellor, so we are delighted that Mr Hammond has signalled his support for greater understanding of the value of and investment in nature.
This enthusiasm needs to continue through the Comprehensive Spending Review which will only happen once our future relationship with the EU is settled. We will continue to make the case to a) replace funding (c£438m through programmes like LIFE and BEST) that will be lost if we leave the EU, b) ensure existing subsidies for farming are maintained and made to work harder for the environment and c) find innovative ways to secure new finance.
As Mr Hammond’s review of the value of nature will inevitably conclude, it pays to invest in nature.