The Guardian reports Natural England biodiversity metric will let valuable wildlife habitat be logged as ‘degraded’ land and penalise rewilding, warn ecologists.
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London Resort: Theme park firm disputes Kent site’s wildlife status
BBC reports developers hoping to build a £2.5bn theme park on a wildlife haven have challenged the site’s protected status. London Resort claims Natural England is attempting to “frustrate” its plans to build on Swanscombe Peninsula in Kent.
The area was protected as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI), due to its “enormous value as a green space and refuge” for people and wildlife. Conservationists said the objection was a “transparent” attempt to undermine the ecological importance of the site.
Endangered British hedgehogs need greater legal protection to stop the public taking them from back gardens and selling them as pets online, MP warns
The Daily Mail reports British hedgehogs need legal protection from being plucked from back gardens and being sold for hundreds of pounds, the government has heard this week. MPs have argued in parliament that the British hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) is facing an increasing problem of being traded as pets.
The species is known as one of the UK’s best loved mammals and a ‘gardener’s friend’, but the creatures have seen a whopping 97 per cent decline since 1950.
Flying ants could swarm Euro 2020 final at Wembley
The Observer reports swarms of flying ants could swarm to Wembley and cloud the Euro 2020 final, after a radar detected millions of bugs over London and the south-east on Friday. As luck has it, the final between England and Italy is taking place on Sunday, which could fall into the mating period of ants, which go on a “nuptial flight” in huge numbers between June and September.
Although the Met Office has forecast “promising” weather for Sunday, it also picked up on the phenomenon potentially coinciding with the fixture and becoming a nuisance for buzzing players and fans.
Ministry of Defence under fire for ‘inventing rules’ to sell wildlife haven
The Guardian reports the Middlewick Ranges are an ecological marvel by the standards of 21st-century Britain. The army firing range near Colchester, Essex, has been untouched by a plough for nearly 200 years, allowing skylarks and nightingales to feast on the threatened invertebrates and insects that thrive in the rare acid grassland.
Yet a plan to sell off the ranges to build more than 1,000 homes has prompted accusations from campaigners that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has rewritten environmental protection rules to suit its case.
Nature belts aim to bring lost life back to edge of towns
The Times reports bees, butterflies and birds could return to the outskirts of towns and cities under plans being considered by ministers to create a “wild belt” to restore depleted natural habitats. Robert Jenrick, housing secretary, is understood to be keen on the idea of wildlife corridors as a way to encourage greater biodiversity across the country.
Nature: Backyard moth spotting rises during lockdown
BBC News reports lockdown sparked a surge in interest in moths, with a rise in rare species spotted last year. Sightings were up by about a third – and many counties across the UK recorded species new to their area.
Experts are heartened by a new found fascination for the insects, which they say are ecologically important but underappreciated and under threat. They say July is the perfect month to find moths – and are calling for the public to go in search of them.
UK must lead the way by making ‘ecocide’ a criminal offence, Green Party peer urges
The Independent reports ministers must lead the way by making “ecocide” a crime in the UK, a leading green figure has urged. Ecocide – which literally means “killing the environment” – refers to acts of serious and intentional harm against the natural world that cause either widespread or long-lasting damage.
A growing movement calling for ecocide to be treated as an international offence akin to genocide or crimes against humanity has been backed by senior figures ranging from Greta Thunberg to the Pope.
UK’s climate targets will cost less than battling Covid, says OBR
The Guardian reports the UK’s climate targets will cost the government less over the next 30 years than the price of battling the Covid-19 pandemic if it acts quickly, according to the UK’s fiscal watchdog.
Forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) show that ending the UK’s contribution to the global climate crisis would add 21% of GDP to the national debt by 2050, or £469bn in today’s terms. But those costs could climb twice as high if the government delays action to cut emissions.
The independent spending forecasts found that taking early action to decarbonise the economy would have a smaller net impact on the UK’s finances than Covid or the 2008 financial crisis.
Red squirrels and pine martens could lose protection in UK review, say experts
The Guardian reports adders, slow worms, water voles, mountain hares, pine martens and red squirrels are among the species experts have warned could be affected, after unexpected changes to the government’s review process that will raise the bar on how rare and under threat an animal needs to be to gain legal safeguards.
The changes, which have not been widely heralded by the government, could benefit property developers and infrastructure projects such as road-building, which currently have to take account of rare species found within the proposed development areas, and sometimes have to be changed or moved as a result.