Conservationists warning over bonfire of farming rules

An irresponsible bonfire of farming regulations would do irreparable damage to our natural environment, conservationists have warned.

The Task Force on Farming Regulation, chaired by Richard Macdonald, is due to report its findings to Defra in the coming days, after deliberating on how to cut red tape in the agriculture industry. But in an open letter to Mr Macdonald the RSPB has raised concerns that the panels proposals will put more pressure on countryside wildlife.

The RSPB is calling on the panel not to propose a weakening of the basic environmental conditions every farmer must meet in order to receive their direct subsidy payment. There are also fears that the Task Force may recommend rolling back legislation which aims to protect water quality by reducing nitrogen pollution caused by chemical fertiliser and manure.

Gareth Morgan, RSPB Head of Countryside Conservation, said: The task force panel is heavily weighted in favour of the farming industry with little representation for the environment. We are very concerned about what the panels recommendations will mean for wildlife conservation.

Any unwinding of legislation which deals with nitrogen pollution would be a backward step. We know from the recent European Nitrogen Assessment that nitrate pollution from agriculture costs society billions of pounds and has a major impact on biodiversity.

The panel must also show their support for the basic environmental work farmers carry out to protect Sites of Special Scientific Interest, use pesticides safely and look after hedgerows and field margins, which is a condition of their direct subsidy payments.

The RSPB is a major landowner, we have 25,000 livestock grazing our reserves annually and we run our own commercial arable farm, so we understand the importance of removing the burden of unnecessary bureaucracy and paperwork. But farming shapes our countryside and environmental legislation is vital to ensure there is room for both food production and nature in our rural landscape.

There is range of important environmental legislation on our statute books and we are calling on the Coalition Government to ensure it is fully protected. These laws are not inconvenient red tape, they are a vital part of our efforts to protect wildlife and they must be safeguarded to ensure our environment does not pay a heavy price in the long run.

In the open letter to Richard Macdonald, the RSPB highlights the Task Forces promise last year not to reduce environmental standards and urges it to pursue a better system of regulation rather than trying to please the industry with a bonfire of regulations.

The letter lays out nine criteria which the panels final report must meet in order to achieve this. These include demonstrating robust evidence behind all recommendations, safeguarding essential environmental legislation and considering the long term costs of environmental damage over short term convenience for the industry.

The letter goes on to urge Mr Macdonald and the panel to consider voluntary schemes only if they complement regulation, and to promote enforcement of the rules through experienced and knowledgeable inspectors rather than private assurance schemes which may have vested commercial interests.