annual report and accounts 2012 - RSPB

RSPB trustees’ report and accounts 2011-12
Trustees’ report
Protection of key sites and habitats
Objective Achievement Future challenges
We will press
governments to
adopt policies
that protect the
very best wildlife
sites (including
those at sea).
Working closely with other wildlife NGOs, we gave evidence to
the Government’s review of the implementation of the Birds and
Habitats Directives in England. This helped Defra to show that the
Directives’ essential roles, in protecting vulnerable species and
habitats and providing essential services, underpin economic
growth, rather than acting as a block to it. The Government’s
report recognised the value of the natural environment and the
importance of policy and regulation in protecting it.
In more specific cases, we helped persuade the Government to
reject large housing proposals at Talbot Heath, Poole and
Hurstleigh Park, Berkshire. This maintained already hard won
protection for the remarkable bird and reptile populations of the
Dorset and Thames Basin heathlands.
As part of a broad coalition, we secured strong environmental
policies in the National Planning Policy Framework for England,
improving the definition of sustainable development, reframing
the “presumption in favour of sustainable development” to
protect special places, and strengthening nature conservation
policies to reflect the Natural Environment White Paper’s
ambitions.
Leading a broad coalition of NGOs, we convinced North Ayrshire
Council to object to the proposed coal-fired power station at
Hunterston and remove it from their local plan.
We will strive to prevent
any net loss of nationally
or internationally
important sites for birds.
We will continue to press
Government to complete
the protected area network
on land, and to create an
effective protected area
network at sea.
In each UK country we will
continue to advocate
positive changes to the
planning systems.
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