Where to invest and where to make cuts: a spotlight on Northern Ireland

Either side of the 2010 election, over 350,000 people signed our Letter to the Future (here).  This called on politicians to consider the health of the planet when making big decisions about where to make cuts and where to invest.  At the time, few anticipated the scale of the cuts in public spending that would follow and, while efficiency savings have been found, this has inevitably thwarted political ambitions to protect and enhance the natural environment.

The impact of these cuts has been compounded by a reluctance to make full use of funding that had been made available.  This time last year, the UK Government and devolved administrations made decisions about how much money they'd commit to wildlife friendly farming from the CAP settlement.  The Welsh Government was the only one to deliver the maximum available according to EU rules while other governments caved in to lobbying pressure by the farming unions.  In Northern Ireland, politics completely scuppered a deal by Christmas and  it was a number of months before things settled down and a budget was made available (here).

One year on, it seems my colleagues in Northern Ireland are once again in the firing line - the environment budget is about to be hit very hard (11.1%) as part of the Northern Ireland Executive's  proposed spending plants for 2015-16.  This will inevitably affect core environmental programmes including those run by NGOs.  And, this may change the nature of civil society in Northern Ireland as infrastructure for volunteer engagement is eroded.

I sympathise with the NI Department of Environment - the cuts are being imposed.  But, I think the people of Northern Ireland deserve a bigger say in the decisions that are about to made. 

The department is running a consultation in December (usually the most hectic time of year) but it is difficult to square their proposals in the draft budget which has been “predicated on a carry forward of the five key PfG  [Programme for Government] priorities” which include, amongst other things: growing a sustainable economy, tackling disadvantage and improving health and well-being, protecting the environment, and building strong communities.

These priorities make it clear that a healthy natural environment is key to meeting the objectives of the Northern Ireland Executive. As highlighted by the UK National Ecosystem Assessment (UK NEA, 2011), “Northern Ireland’s habitats and biodiversity deliver a suite of ecosystem services and contribute significantly to the quality of life and well-being of the population”.

This ground-breaking review of the evidence made it clear that “recognising the importance of the environment for human health and well-being ….is vital if Northern Ireland is to make strategic decisions which ensure continued and enhanced delivery of services from our countryside” .

Although it is difficult to accurately quantify many of the benefits provided by a healthy natural environment in simple economic terms, studies of protected sites in England and Wales have shown that as well as playing a vital role in the conservation of threatened species, the benefits of investing in the protection of such sites outweigh the costs to the public purse by a ratio of almost 9:1!

However, it is not immediately obvious that this  evidence been adequately taken into consideration by the draft budget proposals. Despite the stated focus on carrying forward the key priorities outlined in the Northern Ireland Programme for Government, the draft budget ignores the need for a more long-term view of the consequences for human health, well-being, and prosperity which would flow from reduced investment in the protection and enhancement of the natural environment.

Our team has highlighted the jeopardy for nature and options for raising alternative funds here.

We know what the outcome is likely to be if these cuts go ahead; in England, Defra has also faced disproportionately large cuts relative to many other departments (approximately double the average depending on how it is measured) at the same time as progress on improving the state of nature has largely stalled or gone into reverse (see the recent publication of England’s biodiversity indicators here).

It is clear that we need a new approach to funding the environment, one that recognises that protecting nature is not simply something that we can only afford to do in the good times but rather is something that we must always prioritise due to its key role in underpinning key services.  The message in Letter to the Future is the same today as in 2010: it pays to invest in nature.

And if the rational view doesn't work, then we need to find novel ways of demonstrating the public support for nature - and that is where our friend Bob comes in.  Bob's supporters are urging their MPs that they want a better deal for nature.  I was pleased to see that 41 MPs from across the political spectrum were keen to talk about nature and have their photograph taken with Bob this week.  In total, 77 MPs are now supporting Bob.  You should too - we need to make it desirable for politicians to make big commitments for nature.

And if you care about what is happening in Northern Ireland, please also respond to the consultation details of which are shown here.