UK Nature and Environment

A nature reserve in East Yorkshire has seen a resurgence in numbers of a rare bird that nearly disappeared from the UK.

RSPB Blacktoft Sands, in Goole, has experienced a record year in the breeding of bearded tits, also known as "beardies", which came dangerously close to extinction in the UK in the 1940s.

Around 120 pairs of the small, reedbed bird produced 500 young last year at the reserve – more than double the breeding success rate of previous years.

The decision to greenlight a giant new oilfield off Shetland has been ruled unlawful by the courts, in a major win for climate action that scientists say is urgently needed.

The proposed Rosebank development – the UK’s biggest untapped oilfield – had been given the go-ahead in 2023 under the previous government.

But on Thursday the court of session in Edinburgh sided with campaigners and climate experts in ruling that the original decisions to permit Rosebank and a second, smaller, gas field called Jackdaw were unlawful, as they had not taken into account the carbon emissions created by burning any oil and gas produced.

Peatlands are critical ecosystems for carbon storage and biodiversity, containing more carbon than all the world's forests despite covering just 3% of the global land surface – but new research has revealed that vast areas of the UK’s peatlands, including the Flow Country UNESCO World Heritage Site, are likely to be unsuitable for peat accumulation by 2061-80 due to climate change.

A group of researchers including Dr Jonathan Ritson from the University of Manchester are calling for a shift in conservation strategies in their new study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, and their findings highlight significant regional differences - Western Scotland emerges as a stronghold for peatlands, making it an urgent priority area for conservation efforts.

Using advanced bioclimatic models, the study projects substantial reductions in areas suitable for peat accumulation across the UK, with the Flow Country, Dartmoor and the Peak District being particularly at risk. Even under moderate emissions reductions, many of these landscapes may no longer sustain the conditions necessary for peat formation.

The UK is home to two species of seal, the grey seal and the smaller harbour seal.

In some areas of Scotland, harbour seal numbers are in decline or are at drastically depleted levels compared to 20 years ago.

SMRU aerial surveys revealed harbour seal numbers in The Wash (southeast England), the main population centre in England, are ~25% lower than in 2018. This large embayment has regularly been home to around 5,000 harbour seals, when surveys began in 1988 and as recently as 2018. University of St Andrews Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) are undertaking a programme of work to understand the decline.

WILDLIFE charities have warned that a proposed project could result in more intense floodings in Warrington.

Cheshire Wildlife Trust and The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside are sounding the alarm over controversial plans to build a tidal barrage across the River Mersey.

The scheme, which is in the pre-application stage, is proposed by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and documents state it will harness renewable marine energy and provide reliable and predictable electricity power generation using the significant height difference in the tides.

Mountain (or montane) woodland consists of short, hardy trees that grow from around 450m above sea level in tough upland conditions where tall upright trees cannot establish. Most have been lost to overgrazing and burning.

These wee trees are important for high-altitude biodiversity, and valuable for protecting steep slopes and reducing flooding as the country faces more extreme weather.

A seed stand is a small group of individual trees planted and maintained in an accessible spot to provide a genetically predictable source of seed to be grown in nurseries or directly sown on mountainsides. They are necessary because remaining montane species in the wild are often in very inaccessible places.

A rail route backed by chancellor Rachel Reeves – who played down consideration of bats and newts in development – has been fraught with fears it will wipe out bats and their habitats.

Cambridgeshire County Council this month warned of a potentially catastrophic effect on barbastelle bats of the East West Rail project, a new rail link between Oxford and Cambridge.

The scheme could be "unacceptable" and have a "catastrophic” impact on their population, including "in the worst-case scenario, loss of the maternity roost", the council said.

The Environment Agency working closely with Natural England has secured the largest ever commitment from water companies to clean up the environment and invest in new infrastructure since privatisation.  

The Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) sets out over 24,000 actions water companies must take over the next five years to meet their legal requirements for the environment. This series of targeted interventions represents a £22.1bn investment in the environment - four times more than was secured in the last Price Review and will deliver tangible benefits for our water system and for customers.

As part of the PR24 process the Environment Agency assessed actions proposed by water companies and, alongside Ofwat and Natural England, provided technical guidance to make sure these actions will provide direct solutions to environmental pressures and help drive nature recovery.

Worcester City Council has created a biodiversity strategy to help wildlife thrive across the city.

The council, which is responsible for more than 260 acres of green space, including 24 conservation sites, wants to stop the decline of important wildlife species.

The strategy, which has been supported by councillors, sets out a plan for the next five years to stop biodiversity loss and boost wildlife habitats.

Key goals include improvements in tree canopy cover, the creation of wildlife corridors, and a five per cent net gain in biodiversity across council-managed land by 2030.

Rachel Reeves has been accused by environmental experts of putting the climate at risk with high carbon projects including the expansion of Heathrow airport.

The chancellor made airports the central focus of her plan for growth, despite having previously promised to be the first green chancellor and having extolled the benefits of green growth.

Environmental leaders have asked her to recommit to green growth, such as the renewable economy and green public transport, rather than expanded aviation and new roads.

Water firm river pollution fines must be spent on rivers, MPs to say

Lib Dem Tim Farron seeks law to protect fund as Treasury tries to take control of £11m Sandra Laville Tue 28 Jan 2025 09.53 GMT

Fines from water companies that pollute rivers must be ringfenced by law to be spent on restoring water quality in rivers, MPs will urge.

The Treasury is trying to take control of £11m in fines from water companies, which was intended for small charities to restore rivers, in a move criticised by river restoration campaigners as “appalling”.

In an attempt to protect the water restoration fund, and ensure future fines collected from water companies are used to restore the river environment, the Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron is seeking an amendment on Tuesday to the water special measures bill in parliament.

The first step towards creating a Celtic rainforest – a now extremely rare habitat that once covered large swathes of the west coast of Britain – has been completed in Devon.

More than 2,500 native trees have been planted so far this winter at Devon Wildlife Trust’s Bowden Pillars site, above the Dart valley and close to the green-minded market town of Totnes.

In decades to come, these trees – oak, rowan, alder, hazel, birch, willow and holly – will form a temperate rainforest, sometimes known as a Celtic or Atlantic rainforest.

• Chester Zoo’s milestone Welsh restoration project won against 22 other native species projects for the coveted Great British Wildlife Restoration Award.

• The competition saw over 80 parliamentarians vote for native species projects, from beaver reintroductions to community waterway restoration, all led by British zoos and aquariums.

• The winner, voted by politicians, was announced at a special parliamentary reception hosted by the Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle, featuring speeches by Defra Minister Sue Hayman and Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment Victoria Atkins

The Welsh government has given the charity £249,995 as part of its Nature Networks Fund programme to support the rare Large Heath.

Butterfly Conservation will employ a new full-time officer to lead a project researching what conservation methods can benefit the species on the peat bogs where it lives.

Butterfly Conservation Head of Conservation in Wales, Alan Sumnall, said: "We are so pleased to get this fantastic funding. We've wanted to explore if peat bog restoration is good for the Large Heath for years, but this project will tell us for certain what techniques are helping the most so that we can target our efforts even more.

A new fund to support Nature Recovery environmental projects, the first of its kind, across Northern Ireland has been launched by Environment Minister Andrew Muir.

Councils and voluntary organisations can now apply for the Nature Recovery Challenge Fund Competition 2025/26 – 2027/28 which will offer a minimum grant award of £50,000.

This Challenge Fund grant competition is primarily CAPITAL funding for projects to deliver the key theme of Nature Recovery including Nature Recovery Networks, Species Recovery Networks and 30x30 Projects. Projects which support the conservation of Lough Neagh are particularly welcome to apply.

In 2021 Rachel Reeves announced her ambition to become ‘Britain’s first green chancellor’ – however, recent announcements on planning and airport expansion put this aspiration in jeopardy. The irony of Rachel Reeves's crusade for growth is that these policies risk undermining the UK’s natural capital – an essential foundation for growth.
Nature is not a blocker to growth

Nature does not block growth – it is the very foundation on which growth is built. Research by PwC found that 47% of the companies on the London Stock Exchange are highly or moderately dependent on nature. The assertion that protecting nature undermines economic growth is simply incorrect; nature is the bedrock upon which the economy is built. The findings of the Dasgupta Review reiterate this view, highlighting the significant economic value of nature.

Healthy ecosystems provide stability for businesses by mitigating risks such as flooding and droughts and filtering pollutants from the air and water; nature provides the stability necessary for business. Beyond these practical benefits, restoring nature also delivers significant well-being and health benefits, which strengthen the foundation for sustainable growth.

Brown hares are the only ‘game’ species in England and Wales that can be shot year-round

When I introduced my first Private Members’ Bill in Parliament last November – aiming to establish a close season for hare shooting in England and Wales – it marked the sixth attempt to introduce such a bill in a decade. Colleagues like Lord Randall, Richard Fuller MP, and former environment secretary George Eustice have previously championed similar efforts to protect pregnant and nursing hares and their dependent leverets during the breeding season.

Some may question the timing of this initiative amid pressing domestic and international issues. However, as someone who deeply values wildlife and biodiversity, I believe that addressing this glaring omission in our wildlife protection laws is crucial. Establishing a close season would incur no costs, while making a significant difference to the welfare of hare populations.

Water companies are adopting disinformation tactics similar to those used by the fossil fuel and tobacco industries with the widespread use of greenwashing to downplay the environmental harm they cause, a study says.

Environmental scientists analysed the communications of the nine main water and sewerage companies in England, and compared them with a framework of 28 greenwashing tactics employed, researchers say, by the tobacco, alcohol, fossil fuels and chemical industries.

The water companies have adopted 22 of these tactics to downplay environmental harm, misrepresent information, undermine scientific research, shift blame and delay action, the researchers say.

A recent egg count by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) reveals stable numbers of brown hairstreak butterflies on its Oxfordshire site, despite increasing climate and habitat threats.

With Easter still a few months off, the team from BBOWT embarked on its annual egg-hunt tradition, searching for prizes more valuable than chocolate.

The rare brown hairstreak butterfly is found in select areas across the south of Britain, with declining numbers from habitat loss resulting in its Vulnerable designation on the Butterfly Red List. Spending much of its adult life hidden high in hedgerows and in the treetops, this elusive butterfly is monitored by counting its eggs in the winter.

Work is under way in Cornwall to help save a native bird which nature experts have described as "dangerously close to extinction".

The county is one of the last areas in southern England which still has willow tits, according to Natural England (NE).

As part of the project, areas of Goss Moor in mid Cornwall are being managed to create habitat where it is easier for the birds to forage.

Labour is being warned it is hurtling towards a “powder keg” confrontation with environmentalists, green groups and a swathe of its own supporters in the next few weeks, amid its claims that “blockers” are standing in the way of economic growth.

A flurry of pro-growth measures have been announced by ministers in recent days as part of a government fightback against claims that the economy is stalling.

The drive culminated last week in chancellor Rachel Reeves’s assertion in Davos that economic growth is more important than net zero. She is now on the verge of effectively giving her backing to airport expansion at Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton.

What was thought to be the last bat of its species in the UK may finally have a mate, according to bat experts.

The greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis) was declared extinct in 1992, before a single male was found in a disused railway tunnel in West Sussex in 2002 and another in 2023,

A female of the species has now been spotted in the same area in the South Downs National Park, the first in the wild since the 1980s.

Songbird chicks are being killed by high levels of pesticides in the pet fur used by their parents to line their nests, a study has found.

Researchers surveying nests for the harmful chemical found in pet flea treatments found that it was present in every single nest. The scientists from the University of Sussex are now calling for the government to urgently reassess the environmental risk of pesticides used in flea and tick treatments and consider restricting their use.

Cats and dogs are widely treated with insecticides to prevent against fleas. Vets often recommend regular flea treatments as a preventive measure, even when dogs and cats do not have the pest. But scientists now recommend animals should not be treated for fleas unless they actually have them.

Plans for a £250m upgrade of a major road network could be disrupted by a butterfly.

Last week, Kent County Council revealed plans to improve the A229 Blue Bell Hill which connects Chatham to Maidstone.

The plans contain a raft of new slip roads and roundabout enhancements, but one of the measures is for an additional lane and a new slip road on the southern-bound carriageway heading to Maidstone.

That would plunge it through the habitat of the Green Hairstreak butterfly.

Ministers have seen off a bill that would have made the UK’s climate and environment targets legally binding, after promising Labour backbenchers that they would have input into environmental legislation.

The deal avoids an internal row over the bill, which was introduced by the Liberal Democrat MP Roz Savage but had support from dozens of Labour MPs.

Before Friday’s debate on the legislation, ministers insisted on the removal of clauses that would have required the UK to meet the targets it agreed to at Cop and other international summits. A Labour source said the bill as it stood would have forced the government to renegotiate its international climate change agreements.