Papers Today

// English wildlife 'under threat'

England is under threat of losing its most precious wildlife to climate change and development, a government advisory body report has warned. The richness of the countryside has declined dramatically over the past 50 years, and is under increasing pressure, Natural England said. Butterflies, native reptiles and grassland flowers had all declined over the past half-century, the study found. It said "landscape-scale" conservation was needed to maintain ecosystems.

The intensive use of both land and sea, along with changes in climate, has seen a 50% decline in woodland butterflies and the loss of rare salt-marsh habitats to rising sea levels, said Natural England in its first State of the Environment report. But the advisory body also said well-planned conservation projects - such as the re-introduction of the red kite - could be highly successful. Other species that have fared well include the sand lizard and the lesser horseshoe bat. But the report said there were concerns as to whether the countryside was "sufficiently resilient and robust, diverse and interconnected" to survive future pressures.