Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effects of using glyphosate on wildlife, including birds and insects; and what research, if any, they are undertaking into the impact of using glyphosate.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The effects of glyphosate on wildlife have been carefully assessed as part of the regulatory process for pesticides. The effects of glyphosate itself were considered by the EU when deciding whether to approve the substance. UK regulatory scientists participated in the assessment made by the European Food Safety Authority and agreed with its conclusions. The Government therefore supported the decision at the end of 2017 to continue the approval of glyphosate.
All products containing glyphosate are individually authorised and the Government will not authorise products for which the scientific assessment suggests that there may be unacceptable effects on wildlife.
Decisions on glyphosate are based on regulatory studies which companies are required to commission to support their applications. Relevant published data is also considered. The Government is not carrying out its own research on the environmental impact of glyphosate use because a comprehensive evidence base is already available.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reduction in global insect populations and how to reverse the global impact of this trend.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
UK scientists have been at the forefront of delivering assessments by the Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The IPBES global assessment for pollinators concluded that wild pollinators, including many insect groups, have declined in Europe and North America. Data deficiencies precluded assessment in other parts of the world. Regional assessments came to similar conclusions for wider biodiversity, including insects. In Europe, for example, ongoing strong declines were identified in most species groups.
The UK Government acknowledges and is committed to addressing the declines. Internationally, we are determined to play a leading role in the development of an ambitious strategy under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, when its current framework expires in 2020. At the most recent Conference of the Parties to the Convention, in November 2018, we supported action such as the adoption of a global plan for the conservation and sustainable use of pollinators.
At the national level, the Government’s indicators of the abundance of UK butterflies show long term declines since 1976 but no significant change since 2012. Our indicator of pollinating insects in the UK tells a similar story - overall distribution has declined since 1980 but has stabilised in recent years. We are keeping these trends under review as encouraging but not yet definitive signs of progress.
The Government gathers further data on the status of UK pollinators through a UK-wide pollinator monitoring and research partnership, established in collaboration with research institutes and volunteer organisations.
The 25 Year Environment Plan commits to improving the status of insects and each of the four countries of the UK has its own strategy to protect pollinators. We will continue to work in partnership with scientists and practitioners for future generations to inherit a better environment.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the governments of (1) China, (2) Vietnam, (3) India, and (4) other countries in Asia about banning the trade in endangered species and their products including (a) elephants, (b) big cats, (c) rhinoceroses, and (d) pangolins.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The UK is committed to the conservation and protection of wildlife. We work closely with other countries to promote wildlife conservation through our membership of international agreements such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). CITES is an international agreement between 183 Parties, including China, Vietnam and India, to promote sustainable trade in wildlife and to ensure that no plant or animal species becomes extinct through overtrading.
CITES prohibits nearly all international trade in wild caught specimens of species considered to be threatened with extinction. These Appendix I species include pangolins, most elephant and rhino populations, and some big cat species. Species not currently threatened with extinction, but for which uncontrolled trade would not be sustainable, are included on CITES Appendix II and can only be traded internationally with the correct permits. Permits will only be granted if trade is considered not to be detrimental to the survival of the species.
Domestic trade is regulated by national laws and falls outside the scope of CITES. CITES cannot oblige Parties to prohibit domestic trade but it can encourage them to do so. In 2016 Parties were encouraged to close their domestic ivory markets.
In 2016 Dr Thérèse Coffey MP met the Chinese minister and attended the CITES Conference of the Parties, where she had further meetings including with the Vietnamese minister. The Rt Hon Andrea Leadsom MP represented the UK government at the 3rd global Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) conference in Hanoi in 2016 and had bilateral meetings with Vietnam and China. Last October the UK hosted the 4th global IWT conference in London. Sixty-five of the seventy countries which attended, including China, India, Vietnam and the UK, reaffirmed their commitment to counter illegal trade and declared what further action they will be taking. The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP and Dr Thérèse Coffey MP met with a number of countries at the conference including Burma, China, Japan, Indonesia and Nepal.
In 2018, the British Embassy in Beijing ran a highly visible campaign, “End Wildlife Crime”, with public events delivered across China, some in conjunction with the local government authorities, and attended by 19,250 members of the public.
Embassies and High Commissions in many Asian countries play a key role in raising IWT issues with host governments. Officials and ministers discuss IWT with these countries in the margins of international meetings and during visits to the region. Most recently the Rt Hon Mark Field MP discussed IWT with senior members of the Vietnamese Government on a visit to the country.
China has taken positive action on closing its domestic ivory market, co-hosting a session on combatting the ivory trade at the 2018 IWT conference. However, last year China decided to adjust its 1993 legislation to allow the use of farmed tiger and rhino products in traditional medicine; following discussions with the UK and others the Chinese Government is reviewing that decision. We regularly discuss IWT with the Chinese authorities and will continue to raise our concerns with them.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Japan about its decision to resume whaling; and whether they intend to impose sanctions on that government if that practice goes ahead.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
During Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzō Abe’s, visit to the UK on 9 January, the Prime Minister expressed her disappointment at Japan’s decision to leave the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and reiterated our opposition to commercial whaling practices.
We are working closely with other likeminded countries to assess the implications of this decision and will be using all appropriate opportunities to urge the government of Japan to rethink its decision.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice and assistance they provide to local authorities on tackling air pollution in urban areas in order to tackle increases in the levels of asthma and other breathing difficulties.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
We know that air quality is a threat to public health and that more needs to be done to improve air quality. Earlier this month the Government published the Clean Air Strategy which addresses broader emissions and aims to cut air pollution and save lives. The Strategy includes new and ambitious goals, legislation and policies which will help us to clean up our air faster and more effectively. The World Health Organisation has praised our Clean Air Strategy as ‘an example for the rest of the world to follow’
The Government has made available almost £500 million to help local authorities develop and implement local air quality plans. Defra’s Air Quality Grant Programme provides funding to local authorities for projects in local communities to tackle air pollution and reduce emissions. The scheme has awarded over £57 million in funding to a variety of projects since it started in 1997.The 2019 scheme is underway and Defra will award at least £3 million to English local authorities that have one or more Air Quality Management Area.
Defra has worked jointly with Public Health England and the Association of Directors of Public Health to develop a series of outreach events aimed at Directors of Public Health to inform local decision making, and enable local authorities to lead, and improve air quality more effectively. In March 2017 Defra and Public Health England jointly issued a briefing to Directors of Public Health outlining the important role Directors of Public Health can play in helping to improve air quality.
We will bring forward provisions on air quality in 2019 and this will include an up to date legislative framework for tackling air pollution at national and local level, tying this into the development of the new environmental principles and governance framework to be outlined in the Environment Bill.
Under the new Environment Bill we are considering what changes can be made to the Clean Air Act to enable Local Authorities to go further in areas of high pollution and make further improvement to local air quality. Local authorities have statutory duties to review and assess local air quality and to take action to clean up air if improvements are necessary. Defra provides guidance and support to local authorities so that they can meet their statutory duties under the Environment Act 1995.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on eels of cocaine in the river Thames; and what steps they intend to take to reduce the level of cocaine in that river.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Environment Agency (EA) undertakes a wide range of monitoring in the River Thames, including some exploratory monitoring for cocaine, to manage water quality and inform future regulatory approaches where appropriate.
The EA is working with Thames Water and other water companies to undertake extensive investigations to assess a wide range of chemicals entering rivers through wastewater treatment works. The investigations have shown that wastewater treatment works significantly reduce the concentrations of many chemicals before they are discharged to rivers. Although cocaine is not part of these investigations, it is likely that it will be similarly affected by wastewater treatment.
The Thames Tideway Tunnel, which is currently in construction and will be operational by 2023, will significantly reduce the frequency and volume of discharges of storm sewage and improve water quality in the tidal Thames. This will reduce levels of associated chemicals in the tidal river.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proposal for a cull of hippos to be conducted by trophy hunters on the Luangwa River in Zambia.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The UK Government has not made an assessment of the proposal for a cull of hippos on the Luangwa River in Zambia.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the proposal for a cull of hippos to be conducted by trophy hunters on the Luangwa River in Zambia, whether they will bring forward consultation and legislation to ban the trade in ivory from hippos; and whether they plan to bring forward amendments to the Ivory Bill to include hippo ivory.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Ivory Bill will enact a ban in commercial dealing in elephant ivory in the UK that could directly or indirectly fuel the poaching of elephants. There is a delegated power within the Bill to allow the Secretary of State to extend the Bill to cover other ivory bearing species, such as the hippopotamus, through a regulation. The Government has committed to consulting on extending the ban as soon as possible. This consultation is necessary in order to ensure compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), otherwise the whole ban would be put at risk.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact the proposed cull of hippos to be conducted by trophy hunters on the Luangwa River in Zambia will have on the ban on the trade in ivory contained in the Ivory Bill.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
No assessment has been made of the impact of the proposed cull of hippos to be conducted by trophy hunters on the Luangwa River in Zambia on the ban on the trade in ivory contained in the Ivory Bill. The Government has announced it will consult as soon as possible on extending the ivory ban to hippos. This consultation will allow an assessment to be made of all the appropriate evidence.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the decision by the United States to allow the trade in elephant and other animal trophies from Zambia and Zimbabwe; and whether they will discuss a worldwide ban on sales of ivory with the President of the United States during his visit to the UK.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), to which the United States is a Party, the import of hunting trophies of elephants and other endangered species is permitted subject to strict controls. We have not made an assessment of the decision by the United States.
The Prime Minister and President Trump discussed a range of the many international and foreign policy issues on which the US and UK co-operate closely.