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The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. Elliot Morley) indicated assent.
Mr. Prior: Perhaps the Minister has been there. That habitat was created with the bittern especially in mind.
There is an urgency about this matter. It would be tragic if we had to have this same discussion in two, three or four years' time when these areas have been flooded. The Minister will know of the damage that saltwater can do to these habitats. Only this year, the bittern population at Cley has declined dramatically owing to the saltwater
flooding of just a year ago. I would ask the Minister to consider a funded, comprehensive plan of action for the Norfolk and Suffolk coasts, giving greater emphasis to rural areas and wildlife interests; and where habitat loss is unavoidable, ensuring that it is replaced elsewhere.
Mr. Bob Blizzard (Waveney):
I should like to add my support to virtually everything the hon. Gentleman has said. The wetland nature reserves of the Suffolk coast attract significant numbers of visitors, just as they must do in Norfolk. They are thus of economic benefit to my constituency and the surrounding area. While I support the environmental thrust of the hon. Gentleman's argument, I would also point to the economic value of coastal protection schemes.
Mr. Prior:
The hon. Gentleman is right. Tourism is a vital part of the economies of Suffolk and north Norfolk.
Dr. George Turner (North-West Norfolk):
The hon. Gentleman will be aware that only yesterday I opened a new visitor centre at Titchwell which already attracts about 140,000 visitors a year. As well as their international importance for wildlife, these unique places on the north Norfolk coast are also some of the jewels in our tourist industry--Titchwell is a good example. I hope that the Minister will take account of that when allocating resources to protect this sort of environment.
Mr. Prior:
I agree. The three bird reserves, Minsmere, Cley and Titchwell, are unique assets that bring many visitors to Suffolk and north Norfolk.
Dr. Ian Gibson (Norwich, North):
I welcome the debate because I believe that an ecological disaster is waiting to happen, not just in Norfolk but throughout the world. Saltwater infusion causes the death of the freshwater fish on which the birds feed and breed. On the broads, the salination of the wetlands owing to higher sea levels is the cause of considerable anxiety.
The climatic research unit at our local university of East Anglia made the national headlines today for pointing out that there will be temperature rises--despite all the good work that we hope will be done in Kyoto this week. That will mean that the sea will rise, and these magical areas in Norfolk and the rest of the world will find that their habitats will be compromised--
Mr. Deputy Speaker (Sir Alan Haselhurst):
Order. The hon. Gentleman must resume his seat when I am on my feet. This is an Adjournment debate in which a short intervention is permitted, but not a speech--unless the hon. Gentleman has the prior permission both of the hon. Member who initiated the debate and of the Minister.
Mr. Prior:
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments. There is no doubt that a fundamental change which will affect sea levels is under way. There are limits to what Governments or anyone else can do to limit the implications. The difficulty for wildlife habitats is that there is, in a sense, nowhere for the sea to go because of developments along the coast. If the coastal roads and houses had not been built, the coastline would have found its own natural place. However, that is not the position.
If we want to preserve these habitats, some of them will have to be moved. The Minister will be aware of the claybank scheme at Salthouse, which is being proposed
with the general support of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and others. Even with that scheme, which is generally recognised to be a good one, we will lose one third of the grazing marshes at Salthouse. That is a price which we will have to pay.
Mr. Keith Simpson (Mid-Norfolk):
I reinforce the comments of the hon. Member for Norwich, North (Dr. Gibson). There is a major impact not only on the north Norfolk coast, but on the whole of Norfolk and Suffolk and my constituency, which borders the Broads. All the people who live in the area feel that the environmental changes will have a major impact not just on the wildlife, but on the areas in which they live. As my hon. Friend said, unless action is taken soon, we will have to take retrospective action, when it will almost certainly be too late.
Mr. Prior:
I thank my hon. Friend. We should pay tribute to the work being done by the Environment Agency in protecting the Norfolk Broads. The scheme at Sea Palling and Hattisburgh--the offshore reach--is remarkable. It is not yet a proven scheme, but it is a remarkable feat of engineering.
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. Elliot Morley):
I congratulate the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Mr. Prior) on the way in which he has pursued this Adjournment debate. He has spoken with great authority and knowledge. The matter is important, and I am delighted to see so many hon. Members present for the debate.
I welcome the contributions of the hon. Member for Mid-Norfolk (Mr. Simpson), of my hon. Friend the Member for North-West Norfolk (Dr. Turner)--I envy any hon. Member who has a place as marvellous as Titchwell in his constituency--of my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney (Mr. Blizzard), who mentioned the similar problems and pressures experienced on the Suffolk coast, and of my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, North (Dr. Gibson), who described the problems of global warming and rising sea level--an issue raised by the hon. Member for North Norfolk.
I am aware of the problems of habitat loss and the practicalities of recreating the habitat elsewhere. The hon. Gentleman painted a wonderful picture of the north Norfolk coast. It is an area with which I am extremely familiar, having gone there for many years. I know the Minsmere, Cley, Titchwell and Salthouse bird reserves very well, and have spent many happy hours there pursuing many different species--not always with great success.
In East Anglia alone it has been estimated that more than 770 hectares of internationally important wetlands are at risk from coastal erosion and saltwater flooding. The hon. Gentleman asked--quite reasonably--what is
being done to protect them. I visited Cley, not while it was flooded, but shortly afterwards, and I saw the damage caused to the habitat there. I am aware of the understandable concern of local people.
The United Kingdom is playing a leading role in the protection of key habitats, birds, plants and animal species through the on-going programme of special protection areas for birds, special areas of conservation for key habitats and species other than birds, and Ramsar designations for important wetlands.
The SPAs and proposed SACs will form part of the largest Europewide network of Nature 2000 important wildlife sites. In Norfolk, two overlapping such sites are the north Norfolk coast SPA and Ramsar site, and the proposed Wash and north Norfolk coast coastal SAC. They encompass a number of habitats of prime importance including fresh and saltwater grazing marsh, reedbeds, salt marsh and shingle structures.
Those are among the 38 key habitats identified by the UK biodiversity steering group as requiring urgent conservation action. In addition, they are home to a number of rare birds, animals and plants. Action plans for coastal floodplain, grazing marsh and reedbeds were published, together with 12 other key habitats as part of the steering group's 1995 report.
Implementation of these plans has now begun and among the actions proposed are the conservation, creation and re-establishment of such habitat types. Action plans for the remaining key habitats, including salt marsh and shingle structures, are being prepared and we expect to publish them by the end of 1998. Such habitat improvement work is also being undertaken as part of the salt marsh option of the Ministry's habitat scheme. That has considerable scope for recreating habitat.
Over the past decade the Ministry has been developing an integrated and strategic approach to sea defence and coast protection. I shall deal with the questions raised by the hon. Member for North Norfolk on that issue. I shall deal also with shore management.
The hon. Gentleman raised an important point about the need for co-ordination, an issue that needs to be considered. I shall take it up with my right hon. and hon. Friends in the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions.
The hon. Gentleman talked about the funding formula for flood and drainage schemes. I can reassure him in that he is right in saying that a funding formula has been reintroduced. That is right and proper because if there are limited resources there must be a priority scheme. It is necessary to identify the schemes that must be given top priority in terms of Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food spending and capital grant. Within the new formula, for the first time, environmental factors are recognised. That will be to the benefit of many rural schemes as it will be to the benefit of important habitat areas such as those which have been discussed tonight. I shall deal later with the replacement of habitats.
In 1993 the Ministry published, with the Welsh Office, a strategy for flood and coastal defence. The strategy set out a comprehensive framework within which Government and the operating authorities can work. In particular, the strategy advocates that defence measures should be based on an understanding of natural processes and, as far as possible, work with those processes. It is for operating authorities such as the
Environment Agency and local authorities to assess what measures are needed to reduce flooding and coastal erosion in their areas, and to come forward with plans for dealing with those problems that are cost-effective and sound in engineering and environmental terms. For its part, the Ministry makes grant aid available for capital defence schemes which meet these criteria. They are now part of the formula.
As part of the strategic approach to flood and coastal defence problems, the Ministry encourages operating authorities to take and consider a wide range of possible options. It has also promoted the setting up of coastal defence groups, which provide a forum for discussion and co-operation and help ensure that coastal processes taking place within particular stretches of coast are taken into account.
To assist those groups in the strategic management of discrete stretches of coast, the Ministry has encouraged the preparation of shoreline management plans and has issued guidance on their preparation. The aim of the plans is to provide a basis for sustainable coastal defence policies and to set objectives for the future management of coastline, taking into account natural coastal processes, coastal defence needs, environmental considerations, planning issues and current and future land use.
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