English Nature: No Change on Marine Conservation Areas

English Nature decided to conduct an in-depth study looking at the scientific techniques used to designate SACs in the UK and those used in the rest of Europe at the end of last year after the British marine industry complained that it was being unfairly affected by the way English Nature designated SACs.

Ports and harbours, marinas and a wide range of other marine businesses claim that the UK is interpreting the European Union’s Habitats Directive (under which the SACs are designated) more stringently than other countries, designating whole estuaries in which ports and harbours and other marine businesses are located. The British marine industry claims other countries in Europe do not designate entire estuaries and use social and economic criteria to rule out SACs where they may adversely affect industry.

According to English Nature’s Roger Morris, who oversees the work on estuaries at the organisation, the study, which has just been published, suggests that there are very considerable differences across Europe.

Morris said there were even differences in the science being used in different regions in the same country.

However, English Nature maintains that it is taking the correct approach to the Habitats Directive and the designation of marines SACs – and by implication that the rest of Europe is not. This being the case, English Nature has suggested that guidelines should be produced for use by all member states and has taken the matter up with Directorate General (DG) 11.

Under the Directive, member States are required to identify sites of particular interest which contain examples of environmentally interesting habitats and species. Estuaries are one of the habitats identified in the Directive, and a number of estuaries that are of central importance to the marine industry in the UK have been proposed as marine SACs.

The problem for the marine industry in the UK is that once an area has been designated as a marine SAC, a rigorous regime comes into place controlling all of activities which can take place in or near it, making any new development much more difficult – and time consuming and costly.

The British Marine Federation’s Environmental Executive Justine Cooper said:

‘We are aware that there is a difference in the way that marine SACs are being designated in the UK and in the rest of Europe, and that this is to the detriment of the marine industry here in the UK.

‘We are working on the implications for the industry as a whole, and developing a strategy to help members deal with issues such as planning and development. We are also still lobbying for change at national level and European level’, said Cooper.

Environmentalists claim that development work in ports and marinas can ‘irreversibly modify existing natural habitats’, and are ‘likely to cause the most significant impacts’. Thus, building a breakwater, driving piles, installing additional pontoons or carrying out dredging work could be banned in SACs or it may become much more difficult to obtain permission to carry out such activities.