 |
| Well-intentioned but muddled - Labour's plan for Nature |
PLAUDITS to the Labour Party for drawing up a policy statement on Nature as part of its campaign strategy for the 2019 General Election.
How regrettable, though, that amid all the aspiration, there is next nothing on specifics and practicalities.
What precisely is the meaning of the sentence below?
"Greater, interacting and more holistic responses will be required to restore the natural balances which support birdlife."
Is it not just vague waffle?
The author continues:
"As a first step, we will implement recommendations from the third review of Special Protected Areas, including measures to protect the Little Egret, the reintroduced osprey, white-tailed eagle and red kite, and non-breeding gulls and raptors in coastal areas.”
Presumably this must refer to the Joint Nature Conservation Committee's 2016 review of Special Protection Areas.
But there is nothing in the JNCC document urging additional measures to protect the named species, all of which, as it happens, are flourishing.
For instance, the review notes that, between 1980 and 2011, the population of non-breeding little egrets had increased by a spectacular 426 per cent.
Between 1978 and 2010, UK ospreys increased by 629 per cent, while, between 1978 and 2010, the population of breeding red kites soared by a staggering 2,303 per cent.
The document was a welcome initiative, but it should have been researched more thoroughly, written more clearly, checked for accuracy and offered specific and properly costed proposals.
How regrettable, though, that amid all the aspiration, there is next nothing on specifics and practicalities.
What precisely is the meaning of the sentence below?
"Greater, interacting and more holistic responses will be required to restore the natural balances which support birdlife."
Is it not just vague waffle?
The author continues:
"As a first step, we will implement recommendations from the third review of Special Protected Areas, including measures to protect the Little Egret, the reintroduced osprey, white-tailed eagle and red kite, and non-breeding gulls and raptors in coastal areas.”
Presumably this must refer to the Joint Nature Conservation Committee's 2016 review of Special Protection Areas.
But there is nothing in the JNCC document urging additional measures to protect the named species, all of which, as it happens, are flourishing.
For instance, the review notes that, between 1980 and 2011, the population of non-breeding little egrets had increased by a spectacular 426 per cent.
 |
| Little egret - a species whose population is booming |
Between 1978 and 2010, UK ospreys increased by 629 per cent, while, between 1978 and 2010, the population of breeding red kites soared by a staggering 2,303 per cent.
The document was a welcome initiative, but it should have been researched more thoroughly, written more clearly, checked for accuracy and offered specific and properly costed proposals.
No comments:
Post a Comment