Government Cuts Threaten Dorset's Wildlife

Wildlife under threat

Dorset’s wildlife is under threat from government cuts, according to Dorset’s largest voluntary conservation organisation.  Dorset Wildlife Trust is urging the government to put long term environmental security ahead of short term number crunching when making decisions on spending cuts.  The coalition government has pledged to be the “greenest ever” but funding cuts of up to 40% for the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) could have a devastating impact on the countryside, according to the charity, which represents 25,000 members and works to protect wildlife across the county.

Failure to meet UN target on biodiversity

Imogen Davenport, Director of Conservation at Dorset Wildlife Trust, said: “Defra accounts for just 0.5% of total government spending.  The UK is already set to fall short of the United Nations target to halt the decline in biodiversity by the end of 2010.  Although biodiversity conservation has been identified as one of Defra’s top three objectives, drastic cuts to this already small budget will make this extremely difficult to achieve.  The government has a crucial role in protecting and enhancing our most precious wildlife sites and species and it is essential that this is maintained.”

Wildflower meadows at risk

Among the Dorset habitats at risk are some of the few remaining wildflower meadows, now restricted to less than 1% of the county.  Dorset Wildlife Trust has been working with the owners of these sites for over 15 years to encourage and help them to enter into government schemes, which provide funding for wildlife-friendly management.  Cuts to the Higher Level Stewardship grant scheme, which is administered by government agency Natural England, could reverse the progress that farmers and other landowners have made in managing wildlife habitats.

Our life support system - have your say!

Imogen added: “The landscape acts as a life support system and can, when managed sensitively, give us clean water, enable crop pollination, absorb greenhouse gases and provide places where we can take exercise and refresh our minds.  Recent economic studies show that the costs of not conserving biodiversity now will be multiplied many times over for future generations to pay. We urge the government to think very carefully about where cuts should fall, and not to sacrifice future quality of life for short term false economies.”

The Wildlife Trusts and other conservation charities have worked together to contribute alternative cost saving suggestions to Defra.  The public can have their say on Defra’s future plans at http://engage.defra.gov.uk/reform-plan/.

Other conservation organisations share the concerns ­ the RSPB has set up a web page so that people can email government directly.  Support the campaign.

Dorset Wildlife Trust’s alternative cost saving suggestions for Defra:

• ensuring that those who cause environmental harm are more responsible for meeting the costs of environmental recover
• working with charities such as Dorset Wildlife Trust to see where, with the right support, we can carry out  work such as enabling people to volunteer for their local environment more cost effectively than government
• looking at where investment in the environment can double its benefit, for example by reducing flood risk or providing green spaces where people can exercise

Notes to editor:

For more information please contact Imogen Davenport at Dorset Wildlife Trust on 01305 264620.
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