Government accused of failing to deliver on countryside commitments

Coalition of environmentalists says promises being undermined by agenda to push for economic growth ‘at almost any cost’ The government is failing to deliver on most of its commitments to help wildlife and the countryside, a coalition of leading conservation groups has said. The groups said that, while ministers had performed well as green champions on the international stage, promises to protect the environment at home were being undermined by a short-term agenda to push for economic growth “at almost any cost”. An assessment, backed by 29 organisations, used a traffic light system to see whether 16 government pledges on the environment were being backed by policies that are well designed and on track. The Nature Check report by the Wildlife and Countryside Link criticised the government over a number of controversial policies, which conservationists argued showed that ministers were failing to protect nature. They included the reliance on a badger cull to tackle bovine TB, attempts by ministers to dispose of publicly owned forests to businesses and charities and the row over changes to the planning system, which opponents fear will lead to damaging development in the countryside. Only two of the promises outlined in the government’s coalition agreement have been given a green approval rating in the report, but the environment secretary, Caroline Spelman, insisted the government was working to implement green policies. She told the BBC’s Today programme: “The government is 15 months into its life. You can’t expect it to achieve everything in the first year.” She pointed to developments such as the department’s natural environment white paper, published in June, which included protecting wildlife and the creation of new nature improvement areas, and said the new planning system would only favour sustainable development. “George Osborne has stumped up for a green investment bank,” she added. “In the letter David Cameron wrote to the National Trust, he said he believes sustainable development has environmental and social dimensions as well as the economic one.” Ministers earned the backing of conservation groups for action on pledges to oppose the resumption of commercial whaling and press for a ban on ivory sales . A further seven commitments were given an amber rating because the groups said ministers were failing to support positive ambition and rhetoric with effective policies. Seven more pledges were given a red light, including promising to reform the planning system to give people more of a say on what happened in their neighbourhoods and to create a presumption in favour of sustainable development in planning. The Conservation groups said ministers were also failing to deliver well-designed policies on time include preventing unnecessary building in flood plains and ensuring that measures to look after the seas and open access to the coast are implemented effectively. Martin Harper, the conservation director of the RSPB, one of the groups in the coalition, said: “These are 16 policy areas where the government has promised tough action – but that is not what we are seeing. “In these financially straitened times, politicians may be tempted to ignore the natural environment in favour of economic growth, but this kind of short-termist attitude won’t wash with a British public that expects the government to protect the countryside and wildlife we all hold dear.” Harper said a healthy natural environment was not “an aspirational luxury for times of plenty” but was vital for the future wellbeing of the economy and society. Green politics Liberal-Conservative coalition Caroline Spelman Wildlife James Meikle guardian.co.uk

Posted by on October 14, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.