No: 27/2011
19 October2010
Quarries Uniquely Placed to Halt Biodiversity Decline
The UK’s mineral products industry has a big opportunity to build on its proven land restoration legacy and take full advantage of its unique potential to help halt the worrying decline in UK biodiversity.
Natural England Chief Executive Dr Helen Phillips told members of the Mineral Products Association (MPA) at a restoration and biodiversity awards event at the Royal Society in London on 19 October: “There are countless inspiring examples of what happens when restoration and conservation are planned into the early stages of mineral extraction and the Minerals Products Association Awards are a great way of highlighting the efforts that have been made. I amdelighted to be able to recognise the commitment, knowledge and enthusiasm for wildlife shown by the high standard of entries and the dedication shown by so many of MPA’s members.”
She spoke at the MPA event ‘Building on our Legacy…Realising our Potential’ at which it was revealed that, with 1,300 sites and 64,000 hectares of land under the industry’s stewardship:
• The industry can single-handedly enable England to achieve nine out of 11 priority habitat targets.
• The industry is leading the way in restoring the population of the previously declining bittern by “hosting” 15 per cent of the UK’s breeding pairs in reed beds created following quarrying (contact us for the full story).
• Two national nature reserves, 22 local nature reserves, 15 field study and education centres and 13 nature trails now thrive on sites already created by MPA members with more planned.
• Operators are now routinely creating, and committing to long-term management of threatened habitats, making a significant contribution to delivering national and local biodiversity action plan targets. Examples include:
-Lowland heathland - home to rare and threatened species like the nightjar, smooth snake and sand lizard.
-Reed beds – home to bitterns, water voles, marsh harriers and Desmoulin’s whorl snail.
-Lowland acid grassland – home to stone curlews and field crickets.
-Ponds – home to a wide range of invertebrates, and amphibians such as natterjack toads and great crested newts.
• MPA members have planted a million trees in the last five years as part of their planned operational and restoration activities. This is a significant achievement and mirrors the Government’s own aspirations for the next four to five years.
• MPA members have planted 57 km (36 miles) of hedgerows in the last five years.
• MPA members have built 21 km (13 miles) of dry stone walls in the last five years (2006-2010).
• MPA members are also putting in place monitoring and reporting procedures to better measure what is being achieved.
• The marine aggregate sector is leading other marine industries with its pioneering biodiversity work around the UK coastline.
Dr Darren Moorcroft, Head of Conservation Delivery at the RSPB, said:“Nature is intrinsically valuable and studies demonstrate it is fundamentally important to our wellbeing and our economy. But we are losing it at an alarmingly rate. The mineral products industry is uniquely positionedto step up and help turn this around.”
MPA Chief Executive Nigel Jackson said: “Protecting and enhancing the UK’s biodiversity is finally being recognised as one the industry’s hidden benefits. As a critical part of the UK’s manufacturing base we are not only essential to construction, to the economy and to growth but are also uniquely placed to make a nationally significant contribution to halting the decline in the UK’s biodiversity.
He added: “Our members already manage or control an area of land that adds up in size to a small national park. Given the right recognition and support, we can achieve a great deal more yet.”
Such is the potential that Natural England and the RSPB have established a unique partnership with the industry known as Nature After Minerals designed to maximise the benefit.
Awards announced at the event included the winner of the inaugural Natural England Biodiversity Award, CEMEX UK in partnership with RSPB for lowland heathland creation at its Rugeley Quarry in Staffordshire. Runner-up is Hanson UK for its Kings Dyke Nature Reserve at Whittlesey in Cambridgeshire. In the MPA Restoration Awards Tarmac Ltd’s Bellmoor/Lound Estate won the top prize in partnership with the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and Lafarge Cement UK was the Runner up with Dirtlow Rake Quarry. (Separate releases carry more detail. Other commendations and awards are shown on the Editor’s notes).
Special awards for commitment to biodiversity amongst MPA’s smaller and medium-sized members went to Brett Group, Marshalls, Sibelco and Smiths Bletchington. An award for individual commitment to biodiversity was awarded posthumously to Brian Butterfield for his outstanding commitment to habitat creation at Lafarge Aggregates’ Panshanger Quarry in Hertfordshire. (Separate releases carry more detail).
Ends.
Notes for editors
The UN has declared 2011-2020 the Decade on Biodiversity and in August the Government published a strategy to halt loss of England’s biodiversity by 2020.
Research by the RSPB shows that minerals sites could meet 100% of thetargets for nine out of 11 priority habitats in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP). It has recently been identified that 14.4% of the UK’s breeding bitterns are found in reedbeds in restored minerals sites and the importance of such sites is likely to become increasingly significant in providing habitat for bitterns. 22 minerals sites are certified by the externally assessed Wildlife Trusts Biodiversity Benchmark.
NATURAL ENGLAND BIODIVERSITY AWARDS 2011
WINNER
CEMEX UK
Rugeley Quarry, Staffordshire YouTube case study: (to come)
UK priority habitats: lowland heathland, open mosaic habitats on previously developed land, ponds, wet woodland, lowland mixed deciduous woodland
UK priority species include: nightjar, tree pipit, woodlark, great crested newt and adder
RUNNER-UP
Hanson UK
Kings Dyke Nature Reserve, Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire YouTube case study: (to come)
UK priority habitats: reed bed, wet grassland, ponds, open mosaic habitats on previously developed land
UK priority species include: great crested newt, water vole, European turtle dove, bearded stonewort, wall brown, grass snake
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Aggregate Industries
Little Paxton Quarry, St Neots, Cambridgeshire YouTube case study: (to come)
UK priority habitats: reedbeds, hedgerows, standing open water, broad-leaved mixed woodland, wet grassland, open mosaic habitats on previously developed land
UK priority species include: nightingale, skylark, otter
Aggregate Industries
Blackhill Quarry, Exeter, Devon YouTube case study: (to come)
UK priority habitats: lowland heathland, open water, rivers
UK priority species include: nightjar, Dartford warbler, stonechat, pale dog violet, silver studded blue, common lizard
Brett Group
Villa Quarry, Wivenhoe, Essex YouTube case study: (to come)
UK priority habitats: wet woodland, lowland heathland, open mosaic habitat in previously developed land, ponds, eutrophic standing waters
UK priority species include: five-banded weevil wasp, sallow guest weevil, hazel dormouse, grass snake, great crested newt, northern lapwing,
Tarmac
Woodbridge Quarry, Wooler, Northumberland YouTube case study: (to come)
UK priority habitats: Lowland meadows, open mosaic habitats on previously developed land, fen, marshland swamp, reedbeds, ponds lakes and reservoirs, hedgerows, native broadleaved woodland
UK priority species include: brown hare, otter, common toad, curlew, lapwing, snipe, grey partridge, skylark, tree sparrow, yellow wagtail
COMMENDED
Aggregate Industries
Bardon Hill Quarry, Coalville, Leicestershire
UK Priority habitats: lowland heathland, broadleaved woodland, lowland wood pasture and parkland, hedgerows, neutral grassland
UK priority species include bats, dingy skipper butterfly, otter, barn owl
Aggregate Industries
Croft Quarry, Leicestershire
UK priority habitats: neutral grassland, eutrophic standing water, hedgerows, field margins
UK priority species include: bats, dingy skipper, grizzled skipper, otter
Aggregate Industries
Eskett Quarry, Frizington, Cumbria
UK priority habitats: lowland calcareous grassland, lowland mixed deciduous woodland, hedgerows, ponds, inland rock outcrop & scree
UK priority species include: red squirrel, brown hare, otter, common pipistrelle, soprano pipistrelle, skylark, linnet, reed bunting, barn owl, dingy skipper, wall brown, grayling
CEMEX UK
Southam Quarry, Warwickshire
UK priority habitats: lowland calcareous grassland, open mosaic habitats on previously developed land, ponds, hedgerows
UK priority species include: small blue, dingy skipper, grizzled skipper, chalk carpet moth, brown-banded carder-bee, great crested newt
Hanson UK
Ripon Quarry, North Yorkshire
UK priority habitats: mesotrophic lakes, oligotrophic and dystrophic lakes, reedbeds, wet woodland
UK priority species include: common toad, white-clawed crayfish, river lamprey, otter, reed bunting, reed warbler, bittern, cinnabar moth
Marshalls
Stainton Quarry, Rotherham, South Yorkshire
UK priority habitats: lowland mixed deciduous woodland, arable field margins, hedgerows, ponds, lowland calcareous grassland
UK priority species include: tree pipit, linnet, grasshopper warbler, song thrush, small heath butterfly, shaded broad-bar moth.
Lafarge Aggregates
Marfield Quarry, Ripon, North Yorkshire
UK priority habitats: hedgegrow, mesotrophic standing waters, aquifer fed naturally fluctuating water bodies, rivers, open mosaic habitats on previously developed land, lowland fen, lowland mixed deciduous woodland, wet woodland
UK priority species include: lapwing, starling, song thrush, yellowhammer, reed bunting, linnet, skylark, bullfinch
Sibelco
Messingham Nature Reserve, North Lincolnshire
UK priority habitats: standing open water and canals; fen, marsh and swamp; broadleaved, mixed and yew woodland; lowland heath; lowland acid grassland.
Uk priority species include: bittern, marsh warbler, reed bunting, song thrush, small heath butterfly, Norfolk hawker dragonfly, otter.
Smiths Bletchington
Rushy Common Nature Reserve, Witney, Oxfordshire
UK priority habitats: mesotrophic standing open water, ponds and hedgerows
UK priority species include: bullfinch, cuckoo, linnet, starling, dunnock, Eurasian curlew, greater scaup, herring gull, reed bunting, song thrush, yellow wagtail, yellowhammer
The Mineral Products Association (MPA) is the trade association for the aggregates, asphalt, cement, concrete, lime, mortar and silica sand industries. With the recent addition of The British Precast Concrete Federation (BPCF), it has agrowing membership of 418 companies and is the sectoral voice for mineral products. MPA membership is made up of the vast majority of independent SME companies throughout the UK, as well as the 9 major international and global companies. It covers 100% of GB cement production, 90% of aggregates production and 95% of asphalt and ready-mixed concrete production and 70% of precast concrete production. Each year the industry supplies in excess of £5 billion of materials to the £110 billion construction and other sectors. Industry production represents the largest materials flow in the UK economy and is also one of the largest manufacturing sectors. For more information visit:
Nature After Minerals (NAM) is a partnership between the RSPB and Natural England, with support from the Mineral Products Association and the British Aggregates Association.
For further information please contact:
Elizabeth Clements at MPA email: ,
m 07775894285
or Hilary Arrowsmith at MPA email: ;
tel: 020 7963 8017, m 07918 608 271
Emma Lusby at Natural England
email:
tel: 0300 060 4231 or m: 07900 608073
Debra Royal at Nature After Minerals
Email:
tel:01767 693588
For further information on the programme, please visit
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