Every five years, the statutory nature
conservation agencies (Natural England, Countryside Council for
Wales and Scottish Natural Heritage), working jointly through the
Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), are required to review
Schedules 5 and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and to
make recommendations to the Secretary of State for the Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs and to Ministers for the Environment in the
Scottish Government and Welsh Assembly Government for changes to
these schedules. Schedule 5 lists animals (other than birds)
which are specially protected, and Schedule 8 lists plants which
are specially protected.
The
purposes for which the Secretary of State may make changes to the
Schedules are set out in the 1981 Act. Under Section 22 of
the Act the Secretary of State for the Environment (or Ministers
for the Environment in Scotland and Wales) may, by order, add any
animal (other than a bird) to Schedule 5 or any plant to Schedule 8
when one or both of the following circumstances apply:
- in his opinion, the animal or plant is in
danger of extinction in Great Britain or likely to become so
endangered unless conservation measures are taken;
- for the purpose of complying with an
international obligation.
Conversely, the Secretary of State (or
Ministers) may remove any animal from Schedule 5 or any plant from
Schedule 8, if, in his opinion, it is no longer endangered or
likely to become so.
The protection afforded by the Act to animals
and plants listed on Schedules 5 and 8 extends throughout Great
Britain unless otherwise specified, and to adjacent territorial
waters, which currently extend 12 miles out to sea. The
Secretary of State may apply all or only some of the relevant
provisions of the Act to animals and plants listed on the Schedules
and may limit the protection afforded to certain times of the year
or to particular areas of Great Britain.
The attached Consultation Paper summarises in
ANNEX 1 the criteria used to select species for inclusion on
Schedules 5 & 8. ANNEX 2 includes the list of species
proposed for addition to Schedules 5 & 8. Other species
proposed for protection by the UK BAP process are given in ANNEX 3,
together with the initial JNCC summary reasons for not including
them as additions. A list of species recommended by JNCC for
removal from Schedules 5 & 8 is given at ANNEX 4. The
species currently included on Schedules 5 & 8 are listed in
ANNEX 5. A proforma for submitting proposals in response to
this consultation is at ANNEX 6.
As a result of previous Quinquennial Reviews,
the number of protected species has increased considerably since
1981 with the result that there is now more limited scope for
adding further species that will benefit from legal
protection. Also, other measures are now available to improve
the survival prospects of endangered species. These include
species recovery plans, Species Action Plans developed under the
auspices of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UKBAP), and the new
legal measure for England and Wales (Section 74 of the Countryside
and Rights of Way Act 2000), which promotes the conservation of
species of principal importance listed under UKBAP. Nature
Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 contains a duty to further the
conservation of biodiversity (Part 1, Section 1). Therefore
it is anticipated that the Fifth Quinquennial Review will result in
fewer changes to the Schedules than with previous Quinquennial
Reviews.
The Fifth Quinquennial Review round is now
underway and it is planned to submit recommendations to the
Secretary of State later in 2008. Consultees in many
non-governmental conservation organisations, biological
organisations and countryside bodies, as well as staff in the
statutory conservation agencies, are being approached for their
suggestions. After the consultation responses have been
received and evaluated, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee
will finalise its recommendations for submission to the Secretary
of State and Ministers. The Departments will then consult
interested parties before making their decisions on what changes
should be made to the Schedules. Finally, any changes
approved by Secretary of State and Ministers will be implemented by
Statutory Instruments.
This consultation has now closed. This is now under
review.