Memorandum submitted by the Department
for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (N19)
BACKGROUND
1. Sites of Special Scientific Interest
(SSSIs) help to conserve and protect the best of England's wildlife,
geological and physiographical heritage for the benefit of present
and future generations. The series of sites is, as a whole, intended
to encompass the full range of the country's natural and semi-natural
habitats.
2. Protected nature conservation sites were
first introduced under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside
Act 1949. The main statutory framework for SSSIs as we know them
today is contained in section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside
Act 1981. The protection afforded these sites was substantially
strengthened with new provisions for the 1981 Act introduced by
section 75 of and schedule 9 to the Countryside and Rights of
Way Act 2000 (the CRoW Act). Although the original legislation
applied to England, Scotland and Wales, such matters are now devolved
and the amendments under the CroW Act apply to England and Wales
only. Defra's responsibilities, and its PSA target, apply only
to England.
3. English Nature is required to notify
land which in its opinion is of special interest for its fauna
or flora, or for its geological or physiographical features. In
determining its opinion, English Nature follows Guidelines published,
and revised and amplified, by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee
(JNCC) since 1989. It then notifies owners, occupiers and others
with an interest, with a description of the features of special
interest, a list of operations likely to damage the site, and
its views as to how the land needs to be managed. The notification
is confirmed nine months later, subject to consideration by English
Nature's Council of any representations which have not, by then,
been resolved.
4. There are now 4,113 SSSIs in England,
covering 1,055,000 hectares, or 7% of the total area of land,
and representing each of the 20 broad habitat types identified
for the purpose by English Nature.
SSSIs in the biodiversity context:
5. The Government's overall nature conservation
objectives are set out in the England Biodiversity Strategy—Working
with the grain of nature (2002). [1]The
Government acknowledges that protection of special sites alone
will not be sufficient to ensure the conservation of biodiversity.
The Strategy sets out the Government's aim of "ensuring that
special sites sit within a `wildlife-friendly' landscape that
reduces fragmentation of habitats, helps species populations to
disperse and regenerate and supports wide ranging species in healthy
ecosystems". Securing healthy habitats and species populations
within special sites is an essential component of delivering the
objectives of the Strategy.
The Public Service Agreement (PSA) target:
6. Defra's PSA target for SSSIs was originally
set in 2000, and now appears as part of Target 3, as follows:
"Care for our natural heritage, make the countryside attractive
and enjoyable for all, and preserve biological diversity . . .
bringing into favourable condition by 2010, 95% of all nationally
important wildlife sites;. . ." The EU has agreed to work
to halt biodiversity loss, with the aim to meet this objective
by 2010. The PSA target helps in pursuing this objective, as well
as implementing our obligations under the Ramsar Convention. It
will also help to implement the Birds and Habitats Directives,
as terrestrial Natura 2000 sites are all SSSIs. The condition
of SSSIs is also an indicator in the England Biodiversity Strategy,
the Sustainable Development Strategies of Defra and of the Government
(the "UK Quality of Life Indicators"), and the Sustainable
Food and Farming Strategy. Other members of the Defra family,
such as English Nature, the Environment Agency, and Forestry Commission
have also used the condition of SSSIs in setting targets of their
own.
7. The key aspects of Defra's PSA target
are defined as follows:
(a) "Favourable condition" means
that the features for which a site is notified are in satisfactory
condition; or are recovering, with the necessary management measures
in place, such that English Nature predicts, using expert judgment,
that the land will reach favourable condition over time.
(b) The condition of sites is assessed through
Common Standards Monitoring (CSM), a system agreed by the statutory
nature conservation bodies of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern
Ireland, and ratified by the JNCC. This involves an assessment
of the condition of each of the features for which the site has
been notified. Achievement of the target condition encompasses
the following JNCC Common Standards conditions: "Favourable
maintained", "Favourable recovered," and "Unfavourable
recovering".
(c) 95% means 95% of the total area of SSSI
land in England, including land covered by water. This could be
said to give undue emphasis to large-scale open habitats such
as moorland, as opposed, for example, to linear habitats such
as cliffs or rivers. However, English Nature aims to achieve the
95% figure for each of the broad habitat types. Defra supports
this approach, considering that each of these habitat types is
equally important, and believes that the 95% target is sufficiently
strict to require best efforts in relation to all SSSIs, in order
for the target figure to be met. The 4,113 sites are broken down
into some 22,000 site units, by habitat type and by ownership.
The area and condition of each unit contributes independently
to the calculation of the amount of land which is meeting the
target.
(d) The condition of SSSIs is assessed by
English Nature on a rolling six year programme. Sites more vulnerable
to adverse impacts or not on target are visited more frequently
than others. Condition assessment information is collated by English
Nature using the English Nature Site Information System (ENSIS).
The figures reported are based on the latest assessment made of
each unit.
Progress to date and reasons for unfavourable
condition:
8. English Nature completed the first six
year condition assessment programme in March 2003. The full results
were published in December 2003 in a report entitled "England's
best wildlife and geological sites. The condition of Sites of
Special Scientific Interest in England in 2003".[2]
9. This report provides the first full assessment
of the condition of all SSSIs in England and the factors affecting
them. It confirms that the baseline for the proportion of SSSI
land on target, established in March 2003, was 56.9% of the total
area, but that by the time of the report's publication the figure
stood at 58.3%. The later figure comprised 44.6% "favourable",
and 13.7% in "unfavourable recovering" condition. The
overall figure for land meeting the target has now risen to above
60%, and is expected to reach English Nature's Corporate Target
figure of 62% by the end of March 2004.
10. The condition report also ranked 37
causes of unfavourable condition. Most of the sites which are
not in "favourable" or "unfavourable recovering"
condition are affected by just one or two of these factors, while
others are affected by several. The top ten factors, shown below
in descending order of area impacted, each affected more than
5% of the SSSI area:
(d) lack of appropriate scrub control;
(e) forestry and woodland management;
(f) lack of appropriate ditch management;
(i) sea fisheries issues; and
11. Many of the 37 factors are interlinked
and many relate to the agriculture sector. Some are more suitable
for remedy in conjunction with individual landowners or managers,
while others will require action at government policy level. Some
factors are susceptible to influence by both. Very few sites are
subject to malicious damage. For most sites, management of the
land in the interests of the features for which they were notified
is required, in order to achieve favourable status.
Delivery Planning
12. Defra's planning for delivery of the
PSA target includes five key strands of activity. These are:
(a) Administration and enforcement of the
law protecting SSSIs from damage or neglect.
(b) A further legal obligation on public
bodies and statutory undertakers to further the conservation and
enhancement of SSSIs in the exercise of their functions.
(c) Influencing a range of public policies
with a view to making their impact on the condition of SSSIs more
positive.
(d) Use where appropriate of a range of funding
avenues not solely dedicated to SSSI condition, including the
agri-environment schemes administered by Defra's Rural Development
Service.
(e) Grants made by English Nature to private
landowners, mostly farmers, as payment for the appropriate use
and positive management of SSSI land.
Legal Protection
13. As set out above, the notification of
an SSSI includes a list of those activities which would be likely
to damage the site's features of interest. The landowner has to
obtain a consent from English Nature before undertaking any of
those activities. Consent can be given, withheld, or made subject
to conditions. In most cases, consent is granted, and potential
difficulties are resolved in discussion between the landowner
and English Nature. However, a fine of up to £20,000 in a
Magistrates Court (or unlimited on conviction on indictment) can
be imposed for going ahead without having obtained the consent.
A similar fine can be levied on anyone recklessly or intentionally
causing damage. English Nature may also make byelaws for the protection
of an SSSI.
14. The consent regime is reinforced by
the planning system. An application for planning permission can
take the place of an appeal to the Secretary of State against
the refusal of a consent, or even take the place of applying for
the consent in the first place. However, English Nature is a statutory
consultee in both instances, and can ask for cases to be called
in if permission is granted against its advice.
15. For the purposes of ensuring that a
landowner or occupier carries out positive management of a site,
English Nature also has the power to impose a management scheme,
and to serve management notices requiring compliance with the
scheme. This can only happen after the offer of a management agreement
(on reasonable terms of re-imbursement). This provision is therefore
expected to be more effective as an incentive to reach agreement,
than through the actual imposition of management schemes.
Public Bodies
16. Under the revised Act, public bodies
and statutory undertakers are required to further the conservation
and enhancement of SSSIs, in exercising their statutory functions.
This applies to decision and policy making functions which have
an impact on SSSIs. However, it also applies to public bodies
in their capacity as SSSI landholders. The largest SSSI landholders
come into this category.
17. Defra has established a Major Landowners'
Group of public and voluntary bodies, on which all bodies owning
or controlling more than 10,000 hectares of SSSI land are represented,
together with Defra, English Nature, and the Environment Agency.
The membership of the Group comprises:
(b) Forestry Commission/Forest Enterprise;
(c) Local Government Association;
(g) The Royal Society for the Protection
of Birds;
(h) The Association of National Park Authorities;
(j) Associated British Ports;
(k) The Environment Agency;
18. The Major Landowners' Group has been
established as a forum for discussion of issues of mutual interest
amongst the bodies represented, and particularly with Defra and
English Nature. It also enables each landowner to check its own
data and assessments of what needs to be done on its land with
those of English Nature, and to establish who is responsible for
these activities. This in turn helps to inform Defra as to changes
which are needed, beyond the control and responsibility of landowners.
Meanwhile, Government Departments have, within the Sustainable
Development in Government framework, agreed to reach the target
on SSSIs within their own estates.
19. In 2003, Defra produced a "Code
of Guidance on SSSIs: Encouraging Positive Partnerships",
which sets out in detail the legal position in respect of SSSIs,
including the duties of landowners, public bodies and statutory
undertakers.
Public Policy
20. Many of the unfavourable impacts on
SSSIs can best be resolved on a site by site basis. However, some
can better be tackled, or at least alleviated, by ensuring that
a range of public policies acts in ways which support favourable
SSSIs condition. The prime case is in agriculture, where the production
support regimes which have characterised the CAP are being replaced
by single income payments, backed up by schemes that pay for environmental
land management. This represents a major policy shift, taken on
a combination of grounds, of which biodiversity is only one, and
SSSIs only one element of that. As an example, the new approach
is expected to remove much of the incentive to maximise stocking
levels which has contributed to overgrazing of the uplands. And
Defra has recently consulted on measures[3]
to improve the agricultural management of common land. One-fifth
of the SSSI area is common land, of which only 37% is assessed
to be on target. These measures will enable statutory commons
associations to take responsibility for the effective, sustainable,
management of common land.
21. It is particularly important to consider
the public policy route for problems which cannot readily be resolved
on a site by site basis. For instance, while diffuse water pollution
from agriculture does not appear in the top ten reasons for unfavourable
condition listed in paragraph 10 above, its impact is heightened
by the fact that it cannot generally be sorted out locally as
part of an agreement between the landowner and either Defra or
English Nature. Defra will shortly be issuing a further consultative
document covering the full range of options for reducing such
pollution.
22. Air pollution, flood management, and
fisheries are all areas where public policy is changing in ways
which can benefit the condition of SSSIs. The creation of Defra
has ensured that these policy areas, along with agriculture and
diffuse water pollution mentioned above, are now brought together
in the same Department, which helps to ensure that biodiversity
is integrated into wider policy development. While policy development
alone will not often deliver sites into favourable condition,
it can provide an important underpinning and support progress
at a site-specific level. Defra has established a High Level Biodiversity
Delivery Group, with membership drawn from across the Department
and among other Departments. The group oversees delivery of the
SSSI target and of the England Biodiversity Strategy, and considers
how these areas can best be integrated with wider policy streams
to deliver the Government's aims.
A Range of Funding Programmes
23. Achieving favourable condition for SSSIs
will in most cases involve incentivising landowners or land managers.
There are a number of mechanisms for doing this. Many involve
public funding, but where there is the opportunity to achieve
progress through regulation or other routes we also explore this.
For example, the Secretary of State's guidance for the current
periodic review of water prices—on the environmental objectives
to be achieved by the water industry between 2005 and 2010—makes
clear that the industry is expected to tackle those of its abstractions
and discharges which adversely affect precious sites. The Environment
Agency will also, via regulation, be dealing with such problems
where caused by others.
24. English Nature runs funding programmes
which are dedicated to the conservation and enhancement of SSSIs.
Although these are an important tool for improving SSSI condition,
achieving integration of funding streams is the key to success,
including programmes for which SSSI condition is not the sole,
or even the major objective of the scheme.
25. The most important of these are the
agri-environment schemes -currently the Countryside Stewardship
Scheme and Environmentally Sensitive Area Scheme. As the standard
and level of environmental management required for favourable
SSSI condition is high, it is the higher "tiers" of
these schemes which are particularly relevant. Defra and English
Nature maintain regular and close contact to ensure that their
respective schemes work well together to deliver maximum benefit
from the funds available.
26. Both schemes are being reviewed, and
a new Higher Level Environmental Stewardship scheme is currently
under development; this will be available in 2005. A new Entry
Level Scheme is also being developed, as are the cross-compliance
conditions which farmers must meet in order to qualify for the
new Single Farm Payment. These last two measures will, on the
whole, be too widely spread to deliver favourable SSSI condition,
but should help to provide a firm basis for the effective targeting
of the Higher Level Scheme and of funding from English Nature.
27. The Forestry Commission's Woodland Grant
Scheme, which will be replaced by the English Woodland Grant Scheme
in 2005, provides grants to owners of woodland, including SSSIs,
These schemes have a basic set of grants for operations such as
tree regeneration. They also include capital payments which have
been paid in many woodland SSSIs for work which will help to achieve
favourable condition.
28. Defra's Hill Farm Allowance Scheme helps
to preserve the farmed upland environment by ensuring that land
in less favoured areas is managed sustainably.
29. Other funding programmes might have
still wider remits, but can be accessed by projects which include
the restoration or management of SSSIs. These can be available
to those putting together partnerships for the restoration of
land for a variety of purposes, including physical regeneration
and social inclusion. Funding can originate from Lottery sources,
the Capital Modernisation Fund, the Landfill Tax, or the Aggregates
Levy, among others. Securing such funding is often best achieved
at a local level, and it is here that local authorities can play
a key role, particularly for semi-rural SSSIs.
30. As noted in paragraph 23 above, a further
important source for SSSI funding is spending by water companies
to meet their responsibilities in relation both to water quality
and to the level of abstraction.
English Nature
31. Resolving all the difficulties on all
SSSIs using dedicated SSSI funding would cost more money than
has traditionally been made available for nature conservation
objectives. However, this does not mean that no such funding is
available. Use of the various delivery mechanisms for the PSA
target outlined above is designed to constrain the requirement
for dedicated funding to within manageable levels, as well as
to harness the full benefits of partnership working. Those funds
which are dedicated to achieving favourable SSSI condition are
administered by English Nature in a number of ways.
32. Most important is the Wildlife Enhancement
Scheme (WES). This is used to fund management agreements with
landowners, usually farmers, with the objective of conserving
and enhancing the special interest features for which the site
was notified. Such agreements pay for the time and effort involved
on the part of the landowner, although there is also an element
which replaces income forgone where the agreement results in a
lower economic yield than was obtained before. (Since the CRoW
Act, there is no requirement to compensate for the loss of potential
sources of income which have not been and cannot now be exploited.)
The scheme is sufficiently flexible to enable it to tackle most
SSSI condition issues, but it can also be used as a top-up mechanism
to supplement activity and funding available from other sources.
33. The parallel Reserves Enhancement Scheme
provides funding for the county-level Wildlife Trusts, who manage
a number of SSSIs. Some SSSIs, among the National Nature Reserves,
are owned by English Nature. These are managed directly by the
organisation, but this does not mean that they need less resource
than if they were managed by a private landowner. In 2003-04 and
2004-05, English Nature has also had access to funds from the
National Sheep Envelope under the CAP, which it is administering
as Sheep WES, focussing primarily on resolving overgrazing problems.
34. Finally, English Nature administers
Land Purchase Grants, where the best solution for SSSI land is
a change of ownership—to English Nature, the Wildlife Trusts,
or to Local Authorities.
35. In the wake of Lord Haskins' review
of rural delivery, Margaret Beckett, announced an immediate full
review of rural funding streams to provide a clearer and simpler
framework and to achieve a reduction in bureaucratic procedures.
This review is taking place under Defra's Modernising Rural Delivery
Programme. It has mapped funding streams and is gathering evidence
on the efficiency and effectiveness of the current arrangements—including
the funding streams mentioned above. It is aiming to make recommendations
before the end of March on simplifying and rationalising rural
funding.
Prospects for meeting the target
36. Defra has not published a trajectory
for meeting the target. As outlined above, it was only last spring
that English Nature published a figure for the first assessment
of the condition of all sites. This showed less land in favourable
condition than was anticipated three years earlier, when the target
was set. We now know the reasons for unfavourable condition on
each unit, and the next task is to identify who is responsible
for putting each of them right. Defra is also assessing what policy
changes or changes in legislation would assist in delivery of
the target, and whether they would be practicable and desirable.
37. English Nature is in the process of
developing a computer model which will use the latest information
about the condition of the sites, together with assumptions as
to the impact of any future policy changes, to arrive at an estimate
of what can be achieved, on what timescale, and at what cost.
This in turn will enable Defra to establish a trajectory for delivery
of the target, against which future progress can be assessed.
38. The establishment of the PSA target
has had a major impact in highlighting the action needed to improve
biodiversity. It has strengthened partnership working within the
Department, across Government more widely and with interested
parties outside Government. Progress is being made on the ground:
in 2003-04 the proportion of sites in favourable condition has
risen from 56.9% and is expected to be some 62% by the end of
March. The scale of the challenge remains high, but constructive
action is being taken to raise the quality of England's most precious
wildlife sites.
22 March 2004
1 Defra, UK-Wildlife and Countryside-Working with
the Grain of Nature. Back
2
http://www.english-nature.org.uk/pubs/publication/PDF/SSSICondfulldoc.pdf. Back
3
www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/common-land/index.htm. Back
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