Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Birds: Conservation
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many of the individuals and organisations consulted in the current review of Schedule 4 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act are (a) bird keepers, (b) bird watchers, (c) bird keeping clubs, (d) bird watching clubs, (e) falconry centres or zoos, (f) raptor study groups (field ornithologists), (g) bird keeping magazines, (h) bird watching magazines and (i) conservation organisations. [126924]

Barry Gardiner: It is impossible to state with any accuracy the percentages of individuals and organisations consulted. In accordance with best practice for such public consultations, my officials aimed the distribution at the major organisations which represented all of the groups of bird watching, bird conservation, rescue centres, bird keepers, zoos and enforcement authorities. These in turn were able to use their membership lists to circulate the details of the consultation more widely. The consultation document was also available via the Defra website.

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of (a) the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) controls and (b) bird registration under section 7 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in tracing and reliably identifying the provenance of individual birds. [126925]

Barry Gardiner: The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) controls and bird registration controls relate to different activities and species. Where the controls are duplicated, as is the case with many species of diurnal birds of prey, assessing their relative effectiveness in tracing and identifying the provenance of individual birds is very difficult.

In general terms, bird registration achieves nothing in identifying the provenance of individual birds as there are no legal powers to assess the captive bred status under section 7 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It does however give powers to trace where individual birds are kept.

CITES controls provide the powers needed to inquire into breeding status, but do not enable the tracing of individual birds, unless there is a specific conservation reason to do so and an element of commercial activity is involved.

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what criteria and methodology are used to assess the sustainability of wild bird species levels. [126926]

Barry Gardiner: In England, the principal method used to assess wild bird population levels is the analysis of trends for the wild bird indicators compiled for the England biodiversity strategy (EBS) and the farmland bird public service agreement (PSA).

Indices for individual bird species are based on the annual field counts of breeding birds compiled by the
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British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). These individual indices are then compiled to show the average population trends with separate indicators compiled for farmland, woodland, wetland and sea birds. The EBS indicator compiles indices for 96 species, 19 of which are used in the farmland bird PSA indicator.

The assessment for the EBS indicator is based on the percentage change in the combined index since 2000 (and is currently assessed as stable). The assessment for the PSA indicator is based on the annual rate of change in the long-term trend—to which is applied a statistical technique that removes short-term peaks and troughs due to weather or gaps in the data. The farmland birds target will be met when the annual percentage change in the 'smoothed' long-term trend is positive. As with the EBS indicator, the trend was assessed as stable in 2006.

Further information on the methodology and criteria used in the assessment for farmland bird PSA target can be found in the following report: “Freeman, S.F., Baillie, S.R. and Gregory, R.D. 2001. Statistical Analyses of an indicator of population trends in farmland birds.”

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of bird rings used by keepers of birds listed on Schedule 4 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 were supplied by (a) keepers and (b) his Department. [126931]

Barry Gardiner: There are 9,584 registered birds, of which 280 are registered with rings not supplied by my Department. The latter figure includes birds which have had rings fitted in other countries before they were imported into the UK. Under current regulations, only keepers in Wales may supply their own rings. There are approximately 60 birds registered in this way.

BBC Website article see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6478815.stm

Department for Environment, Food And Rural Affairs (East)

Woodland birds flock to East of England

More woodland birds, especially Green Woodpeckers and Goldcrests, are making the East of England their home according to statistics published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) today.

The biodiversity indicators show that populations of wild birds in the East of England, previously in decline, appear to have stabilised, while there is cause for optimism as some species are increasing.

The statistics show that 13 of 26 individual woodland bird species increased by 10% or more between 1994 and 2005. Farmland birds during the same period did not fare so well, showing an overall decline of 5% - Corn Bunting, Grey Partridge and Turtle Dove populations declined the most.

The population of all native wild birds in the East of England increased by 6% in line with the national trend for all English regions.

That's good news not just for the birds but for all of us - the bird populations is one of the Government's key indicators for sustainable development. Their numbers are considered as a good indicator of the state of wildlife and the countryside because birds occupy a wide range of habitats, tend to be near or at the top of the food chain, and considerable long-term data have been collected, ensuring a useful comparison from one decade to another.

Regional versions of this key indicator have been developed on behalf of Defra by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

Notes to editors

1. The key regional results are as follows:

* Most English regions showed no significant change in farmland bird populations over the period 1994 to 2005. The exceptions were the West Midlands and the South East, where the farmland bird indices fell by 15 per cent. This compares with an overall England decrease of 6 per cent over the same period.

* The largest increase was in the North West, where woodland bird populations rose by 33 per cent between 1994 and 2005. There was also an increase of 18 per cent in the Yorkshire and the Humber region. There was a decrease of 10 per cent in the South East, but little change in the remaining regions. This compares with an overall England decline of 3 per cent over the same period.

2. These regional indicators are summarised in a Defra statistical report Wild Bird Indicators for the English Regions: 1994-2005, available in PDF format from the link below:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/wildlife/research/rwbi.htm

Issued on behalf of Defra by GNN East.

Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his
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Department plans to implement the recommendation of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee that, before any species of bird is removed from Schedule 4 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, there should be random testing of a proportion of the captive-bred population to verify claims of captive breeding. [127145]

Barry Gardiner: As part of the public consultation exercise for the review of the Bird Registration Scheme, my officials asked the Forensic Working Group (FWG) of the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime (PAW) specifically to consider the DMA forensic issues relating to registration, including those associated with hybrids. The exercise closed on 16 February 2007, and over the coming weeks we will be considering the Forensic Working Group’s contribution alongside all the other responses received. A summary of responses received will be published shortly on the DEFRA website.

Tuesday 13th march 2007

Department for Environment, Food And Rural Affairs (National)

Biodiversity Minister announces new hope for migratory birds

Barry Gardiner, Minister for Biodiversity, is reinforcing the UK Government's commitment to migratory birds, by pledging £176,000 of funding to projects that will protect and conserve them.

Speaking at the Waterbirds Around the World event in the Netherlands, he said:
"Globally biodiversity is disappearing at an alarming rate, and we cannot ignore the significant role that climate change has to play in this decline.

"We need to conserve migratory waterbirds as they are under threat - but that's not the whole story. By investing in projects that monitor their populations, flying routes and habitats we hope to learn more about the impacts of climate change worldwide.

"Clearly by taking action now human kind has much to gain from these magnificent species."

The UK Government has committed a total of £176,000 to the following initiatives:

- £70,000 to a Defra research project that will focus on identifying migratory species that can act as indicators of climate change.

- £66,000 to the international Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) to fund an Overseas Officer in the UK's Overseas Territories in the South Atlantic.

- £40,000 to the African Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) to fund research projects that will help to identify population trends, and the species most at risk from the negative impacts of climate change

Mr Gardiner continued:

"I'm pleased to announce this funding which will go toward a range of important initiatives to safeguard these rare and often endangered species, but we can't stop there.

"There is only so much we can hope to achieve, so governments must work together to preserve species, habitats and entire ecosystems.

"This conference is a shining example of the progress that can be made when governments join forces on this issue. There is much still to be done, but I am confident that together we can tackle these challenges head on."

Alistair Gammell, the RSPB's International Director said: "Conservation of migratory birds requires international collaboration. RSPB welcomes the UK Government's contribution to taking action for migrants, but there is a lot to do. We look forward to working with DEFRA on the actions needed to reduce the many threats migrants face."

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. The event will feature the launch of a publication also entitled "Waterbirds Around the World", which features the proceedings from the first conference put together by more than 452 authors. that details the status of the world's most important waterbird migration routes. For a copy please go to: http://www.jncc.gov.uk/worldwaterbirds

2. The conference has been organised by Wetlands International, an organisation that focuses on the conservation of wetlands habitats and species worldwide. http://www.wetlands.org

3. The first Waterbirds Around the World conference was held in Edinburgh in 2004, and sponsored by the UK and Dutch Governments.