Archived press release

Foe calls on gummer to stop government-funded wildlife destruction

11 April 1997

A loophole in the Government's agricultural policy has put one of the country's most important wildlife sites - home to 11 species of scarce orchid - under threat of imminent destruction. Scrub has already been cleared from the site in preparation for ploughing by the farmer. A delegation of Friends of the Earth protesters - led by Director Charles Secrett- will visit the site on Friday 11 April to try and prevent the destruction. FOE has already contacted Environment Secretary John Gummer asking that he impose an Emergency Nature Conservation Order on the site.

Part of Clayton to Offham escarpment, near Lewes, in East Sussex is set to be ploughed up for flax despite its supposedly protected status as a Site of Special Scientific Interest(SSSI) and being part of MAFF's Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) scheme for the South Downs. Information on the threat to the site was leaked to Friends of the Earth by officials at the Ministry of Agriculture.

The problem mirrors issues aired in BBC Radio 4's The Archers where the Grundy's farm is under threat from being ploughed up for flax by Simon Pemberton. The Grundy's land also includes a SSSI. News of the threat to Clayton to Offham SSSI comes just days after 100ha of ESA grassland, also on the South Downs, was ploughed for flax production [1].

The Agriculture Ministry will pay the farmer, Mr Harmer, up to 590 per hectare for planting flax compared to a payment of just 40 for keeping the site as wildlife-rich chalk grassland.The loophole exists because farmers can not receive payments for ploughing up grasslands for other arable crops [2].

Clayton to Offham Escarpment SSSI is a mosaic of chalk grassland, scrub and woodland.It is home to species including the bee orchid, Skylark and Adonis blue butterfly. Chalk

grassland is under threat on the South Downs and now covers just 5% of the Downs.

Friends of the Earth has called on MAFF to close the flax loophole and on John Gummer to step in to save Clayton to Offham Escarpment SSSI [3].

Charles Secrett, Executive Director of Friends of the Earth said:
"It's madness that the Minister of Agriculture is still paying farmers a fortune in taxpayers' money to destroy wildlife. The Secretary of State for the Environment must step in to save this precious chalk grassland site from the lavish spending of his cabinet colleague. However, because the laws protecting our wildlife are so pathetic, he will probably not be successful."

"Farmers everywhere are going to see the benefit of a 590 per hectare payout so grasslands are at risk across the Country. At the moment nothing stands in their way - agricultural policy is a mess, legal protection for SSSIs is inadequate,and habitats on the South Downs are unprotected despite their acknowledged quality. All the major parties are showing political cowardice in the face of the destruction of our countryside [3]."

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:
[1] Daily Telegraph 7 April, p10: New owner ploughs up wildflower showpiece.

[2] Farmers are no longer able to receive payments for ploughing land for arable crops if the land was not already arable before 31 December 1991. However, under the 'flax loophole' farmers can receive huge payments from UK taxpayers for growing flax - up to591.16 per hectare. Flax falls under the EC fibre flax regime which merely requires that land is suitable for growing flax - in other words that land has been ploughed to make it suitable. In contrast the Ministry of Agriculture pays just 40 per hectare for keeping the land as chalk grassland under the ESA scheme. Flax does not achieve a good price as a crop and is often ploughed straight into the ground as farmers are actually farming the subsidy.

[3] Friends of the Earth wrote to Minister for Rural Affairs, Tim Boswell, in March 1997 calling on him to close the flax loophole. Mr Boswell wrote back on 27 March stating his astonishing view that planting flax on irreplaceable SSSIs was acceptable because flax is an 'environmentally friendly' crop! He said: "I do understand your concerns. However, I am sure you will also appreciate that a sensible balance must be found between the need to protect valuable sites and the equal need to support the development of new alternative crops, particularly those like flax, which are relatively environmentally friendly, and for which demand is increasing."

Friends of the Earth has today written to John Gummer asking him to save Clayton to Offham escarpment SSSI from destruction. Mr Gummer can institute a Nature Conservation Order (NCO) under Section 29 of the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act in

order to prevent potentially damaging operations on SSSIs if they are considered nationally important. As orchid-rich chalk grassland, the escarpment of the South Downs has been identified by NGOs as suitable for designation under the European Habitats Directive.

[4] Friends of the Earth is campaigning to reduce the threat of agriculture on wildlife habitats. It is also campaigning for a Wildlife Bill to improve protection for SSSIs. If the Bill were now enacted, the Secretary of State would have been able to impose an NCO from the outset. Brighton and Hove Friends of the Earth is campaigning to save the South Downs and give the area the protective powers and duties given to National Parks.Presently the Government argues the Downs wildlife habitats are suitably protected by the ESA scheme.
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