Latest news with #UKCentreForEcology
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Officials warn of 145 species poised to wreak havoc across nation: 'Prevention is the most effective approach'
The United Kingdom just updated its Invasive Species Horizon-scan, and — plot twist — it isn't Bigfoot we need to worry about. It's 145 real-world plants, animals, and pathogens poised to sneak in and wreak havoc. Professor Helen Roy, who led the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology study, said, "Prevention is the most effective approach to mitigating the threat of invasive non-native species." Every few years, scientists sift through hundreds of potential invaders and flag the scariest ones for Britain's watchlist. The creatures in question are a range of species non-native to Great Britain. While they are not currently an issue, they made the list due to their potential for future destruction. The 2025 roundup ranges from purple Asian clams, which reproduce at lightning speed and clog drinking-water pipes, to the pine wood nematode, a microscopic worm that has wiped out pine forests from Portugal to Japan. This exercise is the third following 2013 and 2019 to prevent threatening invasive species in Britain. The goal is to assess the hundreds of non-native species from around the world that could potentially threaten Britain's native ecosystem. Invasive species don't play nicely. They out-compete native plants and animals for food, space, and sunlight, shredding biodiversity and the "free services" a healthy ecosystem provides. Imagine purple clams jamming a treatment plant and nudging everyone's water bill up, or seastars bulldozing oyster harvests and local jobs right along with them. Forest pests raise wildfire risk and threaten the timber industry. They can even ferry new pathogens — bad news for crops and public health alike. Protecting native species isn't just green talk; it's food security, clean water, and steady paychecks. On the policy front, DEFRA is beefing up border inspections. Researchers are also piloting an early-warning smartphone app that lets anyone snap a photo of a suspicious creature and beam it straight to scientists in real time. While scientists and researchers continue to monitor possible threats, communities are just as important. Professor Roy stated, "The public also plays a vital role by recording and reporting sightings of invasive non-native species, helping to inform action." Should the government be paying people to hunt invasive species? Definitely Depends on the animal No way Just let people do it for free Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Individuals have an equally important role. Before heading from one waterway to another, give boots, boats, and fishing gear a quick check. Clean and dry them to keep hitchhikers from spreading. When planting a garden, choose native species from a local nursery. This isn't the first battle with invasive species. For example, researchers use native birds to control the invasive spotted lanternfly along the East Coast and Midwest of the U.S. Small, everyday choices like these really add up. For more practical ways to protect local ecosystems, explore TCD's critical climate issues guide. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
BBC News
29-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Government fast-tracks new reservoirs to secure water supply
Two major new reservoir projects have been fast-tracked in a bid to shore up England's water supplies, the government has projects in East Anglia and south Lincolnshire have been declared "nationally significant", allowing them to speed through the planning overriding local objections can be unpopular and the reservoirs could still be more than a decade away from consumption of water may also need to fall to secure supplies amid rising temperatures and a growing population, scientists warn. The announcement means that final decisions about the Fens Reservoir in Cambridgeshire and the Lincolnshire Reservoir will be taken by Environment Secretary Steve Reed, rather than at a local change amounts to "slashing red tape to make the planning process faster" to "secure our water supply for future generations", according to Water Minister Emma two reservoirs are currently pencilled for completion in 2036 and 2040 "would provide more resilience to future droughts in a part of the country that is already dry and where there is high demand for water," said Dr Glenn Watts, water science director at the UK Centre for Ecology & can help protect against the impacts of drought by collecting excess rainfall during wet climate change likely to bring hotter, drier summers, the chances of drought could increase in the decades ahead, the Met Office says. These preparations have been brought into sharp focus by this year's exceptionally dry demand from new houses, data centres and other sectors could further squeeze supplies, but no major reservoirs have been completed in England since 1992, shortly after the water sector was year the government and water companies announced proposals to build nine new reservoirs by they have the potential to provide 670 million litres of extra water per day, they in addition to the Havant Thicket reservoir project in Hampshire, which is already under way and is expected to be completed by 2031. The government also says that it intends to pass legislation to automatically make the other seven proposed reservoirs "nationally significant" too."Reservoir projects are very complex infrastructure projects that are slow to take forward, and so anything that can be done to streamline that process can be a positive thing," said David Porter, senior vice president of the Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE).The water industry has also welcomed the announcement."It's absolutely critical that we build these reservoirs now," David Henderson, chief executive of Water UK, told BBC News."If we don't build them now, we wait another 10 years, it's going to cost even more, so we can't keep kicking the can down the road any longer."But building reservoirs doesn't come cheaply, even with accelerated planning processes. That could ultimately filter down to people's does it come quickly. No new major reservoirs are due to be completed this experts warn that managing how we use water needs to take greater precedence in a warming climate."We need a complete overhaul of the way we use water, to plug leaks, cut down on waste and store water where it falls as rain," said Prof Hannah Cloke of the University of Reading."It would be better to make more difficult decisions around regulation of new building, as well as retrofitting older homes and businesses, to cut waste and recycle water where it is used, rather than pumping water across huge distances," she like any major project, the new reservoirs could prove unpopular with local communities, particularly those whose homes and farmland are cleared to make way for them."The decision by the government to fast-track through the 'national significant infrastructure' route is in my opinion very bad and will make the public very angry," argued Dr Kevin Grecksch of the University of David Porter of ICE stressed the need to take decisions "for the greater good"."Now, that's not to say that we should ride roughshod over the views of local people, and that's not to say that every project is justifiable," he said."But if the decision maker is satisfied that on balance it is the right thing to do, you need to find a way through the objection in order to deliver these projects."In response to the government's announcement, shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins blamed Labour's farming and immigration policies for pressures on water supplies."The last Conservative government left behind a robust, coherent plan to safeguard food security and reduce net migration by more than half. Labour has chosen to abandon those plans and in doing so, it has surrendered control over both our rural community and our borders," she said. Additional reporting by Justin Rowlatt, Esme Stallard and Miho Tanaka Sign up for our Future Earth newsletter to keep up with the latest climate and environment stories with the BBC's Justin Rowlatt. Outside the UK? Sign up to our international newsletter here.
Bloomberg
16-05-2025
- Climate
- Bloomberg
UK Water Supply Dwindles as Spring's Record Dryness Lingers
Water supplies continue to drop across the UK as the driest start to spring in more than a half-century continues to stretch out, reinforcing fears about usage restrictions and drought. Reservoirs in England and Wales were about 85% full at the end of April, which is below long-term norms and a drop from roughly 90% recorded a month prior, according to a new report from the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. Scotland's reservoir levels are also unseasonably low.
BBC News
11-05-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
UK weather: Thunderstorm and flood warning for England and Wales
A yellow weather warning has been issued for thunderstorms, which could lead to flooding in parts of England and warning covers areas including Wales, the Midlands, west of England, London and the South East from 12:00 BST to 22:00 on Monday, the Met Office said. Up to 50mm of rain could fall within a few hours, with a possibility of delays and some cancellations to train and bus has had its driest start to spring for 69 years, the Environment Agency said earlier this month. Brief change with heavy downpours Showers are forecast to drift in from the south in the early hours of Monday, the Met Office across the board are due to remain mild in the high teens or early Met Office said there was the "potential for minor localised issues" and flash and settled conditions will return across the UK for the rest of the week, with temperatures forecast to reach 23C in some parts. Last week, the Environment Agency warned that water companies that more must be done to safeguard water places have gone without any rain for weeks, including Preston in Lancashire and parts of Fife which have been dry since to the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology's three month Drought Index, large parts of the UK are in the 'extremely dry' category.
