The future of the natural environment after the EU Referendum

admin
, 04 January 2017
The future of the natural environment after the EU Referendum
Miles Davies

By Tony Whitbread

Chief Executive

The government’s Environmental Audit Committee (EAC), chaired by Mary Creagh MP has just published its report following its inquiry into the future of the natural environment after leaving the EU.

This makes interesting reading, especially as the Wildlife Trusts combined to prepare a good body of evidence to feed into the inquiry. The report can be found on the EAC web site and Steph Hilborne, Chief Executive of the Wildlife Trusts national office has written this brief response.

A quick read through indicates that some of the Wildlife Trusts key points have got through to the final report. The report recognizes that Brexit could put farming and wildlife at great risk. A potential loss of subsidies together with possible tariffs against farm exports could damage the farming industry, making it less viable and less able to expend resources on managing the countryside in an environmentally sensitive way. Alongside this, the potential loss of The Birds and Habitats directives means that government should provide new measures to safeguard Britain’s wildlife and special places.

The EAC proposes that government should pass a new Environmental Protection Act setting out how it will provide an equivalent or better level of protection after leaving the EU. Alongside this new subsidy arrangements should be put in place to provide public payments to farmers for providing public benefits – like the promotion of biodiversity, preventing flooding and storing carbon.

If alternative measures are not put in place, the report warns that there could be potentially far reaching consequences for the UK’s biodiversity.

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1783583664.8430 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1783583664.86880.0258Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1783583664.86890.0001Server address: 216.73.216.62
1783583664.8690Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1783583664.8690Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/the-future-of-the-natural-environment-after-the-eu-referendum
    [s] => the-future-of-the-natural-environment-after-the-eu-referendum
    [1] => the-future-of-the-natural-environment-after-the-eu-referendum
)
1783583664.86920.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783583664.87020.001 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1783583664.87190.0017 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1783583664.87230.0004INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1783583664.87430.002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22813733
1783583664.8750.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22813733
1783583664.87560.0006 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-07-09 07:54:00' AND saleTo>'2026-07-09 07:54:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1783583664.87690.0013 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='the-future-of-the-natural-environment-after-the-eu-referendum')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-09 07:54:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1783583664.87970.0027 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783583664.88030.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=1273 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-09 07:54:00'
1783583664.8810.0007 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1783583664.88170.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1783583664.88240.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=40 LIMIT 1
1783583664.8830.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=56 LIMIT 1
1783583664.88360.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783583664.88380.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1783583664.88470.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-09 07:54:00' AND postSlug='the-future-of-the-natural-environment-after-the-eu-referendum'
1783583664.90650.0218Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783583664.90690.0004 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1783583664.90860.0017Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1783583664.90890.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1783583664.90970.0008 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1783583664.91080.0011 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783583664.91370.0029 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783583664.91420.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783583664.91650.0023Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1783583664.91660 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783583664.91730.0008 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783583664.91780.0004 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783583664.91960.0019 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783583664.92070.001 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783583664.92140.0007 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783583664.92370.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783583664.92460.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1783583664.92680.0022 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1783583664.92710.0004Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783583664.92730.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1783583664.92810.0008Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1783583664.92840.0004 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='the-future-of-the-natural-environment-after-the-eu-referendum')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-09 07:54:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1783583664.93050.0021 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783583664.93110.0006 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783583664.93360.0025Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1783583664.93460.001 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=1273 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1783583664.98450.05 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1783583664.98480.0003Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783583664.98510.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1783583664.9860.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1783583664.98690.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1783583664.98760.0007 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783583664.98980.0022 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783583664.99040.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783583664.99250.0021 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783583664.99340.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783583664.99390.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783583664.99430.0004 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783583664.99670.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783583664.99720.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783583664.99920.002 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783583665.00250.0033 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1783583665.00330.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1783583665.00380.0005 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783583665.00610.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783583665.00660.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783583665.00850.0019 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783583665.01090.0024 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783583665.01170.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783583665.01220.0006 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783583665.01430.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783583665.01480.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783583665.01690.0021 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783583665.01770.0008Request time: 0.1772
1783583665.01770Process time: 0.1771
1783583665.01770Memory: 1.6223