Government should be the “guardian of the future”, WWT tells MPs

Martin Spray arriving at Westminster to give evidence to MPs
Martin Spray arriving at Westminster to give evidence to MPs

WWT Chief Executive Martin Spray CBE has told MPs the Government must aim for sustainable growth so that damage to the environment does not cost us more in the long run.

Giving evidence to a cross-party Committee of MPs at Westminster, Mr Spray used Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) as an example of how protecting the UK’s nature was being pushed aside in favour of investing in purely economic growth.

Only 12 per cent of peatland SSSIs are in a favourable condition, a fall from 16 per cent a decade ago and far short of the overall target for 95 per cent of SSSI habitat to be in favourable condition by 2010.

Mr Spray told MPs:

“Quite clearly growth is an immediate issue that the Government has to tackle but the Government is also the guardian of our future.

"Places likes Sites of Special Scientific Interest are the jewels in the crown. They’re the building blocks for future environmental enhancement. And therefore to allow those to deteriorate further means we’re removing options for the future and future generations.

"So I think it is a balancing act, and it’s one that is a challenge for the Government but I’d expect the Government to rise to.”

Mr Spray emphasised the importance of water to wildlife and people, and to protecting the natural environment so that it continues to provide for us:

“We need a much more strategic approach to the way we manage our water in this country. It’s not only the flooding issue, it’s about the continued supply of it in the right quantities. It’s about abstraction, particularly in low flow river systems. And it’s about water quality as well.

“We could definitely find imaginative ways of recreating wetlands in this country that actually benefit people. We have diffuse pollution problems in farming that could be handled through natural wetland treatment systems that can treat the water quality, hold back water on the farmland and provide an environment for biodiversity as well.

“Similarly, sustainable urban drainage systems can be put into the built-environment in particular. It’s much easier if it’s new-build and you can design that in. It will help localise problems, provide wildlife habitat and also a nicer environment for people who live there.”

Mr Spray referred to the disproportionate focus on dredging as a result of flooding in Somerset earlier this year. He warned that inappropriate dredging could cause expensive damage:

“There was a lot of talk about dredging afterwards, and dredging is clearly a part of the solution in certain places, but it does need a much more strategic look across the country: At how we’re managing that water, holding back that water, managing water supply, where we’re building etc.

"All those things have to be brought together under a national strategy because where we get it wrong it usually ends up costing us even more in the long run.”

Parliament's Environmental Audit Committee is a cross-party committee of MPs. It was hearing evidence as part of its current Inquiry into the Government’s record on environmental protection. The Committee will publish its findings later this year, to which the Government is obliged to respond.

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