16 November 2011

Big Society has spoken up for our seas

– but will Government listen?

Wildlife in England's seas is facing a serious threat, warns Cornwall Wildlife Trust.

The long-awaited network of marine protected areas promised by Government for 2012 is in danger, according to Cornwall's leading wildlife conservation organisation, which has been instrumental in marine campaigning and research in the county. Cornwall Wildlife Trust is urging the public to write to the Under-Secretary for Natural Environment and Fisheries, Richard Benyon MP, in support of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZ).

After years of pressure from NGOs, and with huge public support, the Marine and Coastal Access Act of 2009 promised a coherent network of protection around the coasts by 2012.  Now 127 marine sites around England's coast, including 12 in Cornwall, have been recommended by four regional stakeholder groups to become Marine Conservation Zones next year.

The recommendations are the result of two years of consultation with more than one million stakeholders including fishermen, conservationists, recreational users, and businesses. This has been the first 'Big Society' experiment where local stakeholders have decided together which areas of the sea should be protected.

There is concern that Government's Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies (Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee) will recommend to Government that only a fraction of the 127 recommended sites are designated. This would result in a much smaller and less effective network of Marine Conservation Zones, leaving vulnerable and precious areas unprotected.

Tom Hardy, Marine Conservation Officer for Cornwall Wildlife Trust says, "A huge amount of work has been done to get agreement on this network of proposed sites which are needed for the health and future productivity of our marine environment. Now, however, in the final stages, the Government has lost its direction and is proposing to over-ride the recommendations of local stakeholders and cut the 127 sites down to an unrealistic 30 in contradiction to the aims of the new Marine and Coastal Access Act (2009)."

The recommended sites in Cornwall range from 12 inshore, small scale MCZs, to large offshore areas designed to protect habitats and seabed features.  Therefore the exclusion of any of the sites agreed in the process would be striking a blow to the future of Cornwall's marine ecosystem as a whole.

"Together with Wildlife Trusts all around the UK, we are lobbying hard for the successful completion of a process that will make the difference between the life or death of our seas. We need to demonstrate the weight of public support for Marine Conservation Zones to Government. This is a once in a lifetime chance.  We can't afford to let it slip away."

Cornwall Wildlife Trust is urging people to write to Richard Benyon MP and ask for Government to create the proposed network of 127 in England. Guidance on writing to the Minister can be found at www.wildlifetrusts.org/saveourmczs.