Home > Campaigns > Biodiversity > Success stories > New wildlife Act passed
20 years of hard campaigning by Friends of the Earth and thousands of committed wildlife supporters have finally paid off with passing of a new act promising radically better protection for wildlife in England and Wales. The new law - the Countryside and Rights of Way Act - was passed on 30th November 2000.
The new legislation puts into place additional safeguards for our most precious wildlife habitats - known as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). These sites are often home to threatened wildflowers and animals such as early gentian and the watervole.
The new safeguards include:
The Biodiversity campaign team at Friends of the Earth has played a key part in the introduction of this new act. High points of our campaign work include:
1994 - Drafting and launch of Friends of the Earth bill to protect SSSIs
1995/1996 - Highlighting the need for new laws through campaigns showing the threats that SSSIs, such as Cardiff Bay, Red Moss, Thorne Moor, Whernside and Rainham Marsh, are typically exposed to. Thousands write to their MPs to demand more effective safeguards.
1997 - Labour government promises "better protection for wildlife". Friends of the Earth launches Wild Places! - a website detailing all of the SSSIs in the UK and their histories of loss and damage.
1999 - Friends of the Earth delivers 250,000 pledges from the public supporting our campaign for new laws to No. 10. Thousands attend a mass lobby of Parliament.
2000 - The Countryside and Rights of Way Bill is introduced in March and becomes law in November (including additional amendments proposed by Friends of the Earth)
See the British Wildlife article:
From passive
to positive
- the Countryside Act 2000 and British wildlife
Friends of the Earth's Wild Places! website has been a key element in the campaign for tough new wildlife laws since 1997. The interactive site provides information on all the UK's SSSIs, regular news updates, actions and background information on our campaigns.
With the success of the campaign for new wildlife laws the site is being redeveloped to help further increase protection for UK wildlife and, in the longer term, provide resources for individuals and groups campaigning to protect their wildlife at a local level.
The Biodiversity Campaign at Friends of the Earth targets the UK's negative impacts upon global biodiversity by exposing the root causes of this appalling loss and by proposing practical solutions to reduce and reverse the decline.
Image © Jenny Bates/Friends of the Earth
