175.Section 74 has three main elements: a general duty on Government to have regard to biodiversity conservation; a duty to list the most important species and habitat types for biodiversity conservation; and a specific duty to further their conservation.
176.Section 74(1) places a duty on any Minister, Government Department and the National Assembly for Wales in the exercise of their functions to have regard to the purpose of conserving biological diversity in accordance with the UN Convention on Biological Diversity 1992. For the purposes of this section, conservation is defined (section 74(7)) as including restoration and enhancement.
177.Section 74(2) requires the Secretary of State and the National Assembly respectively for England and Wales to publish lists of habitat types and species which they consider to be of principal importance for the conservation of biological diversity under the Convention. They are required under section 74(4) and (5) to consult English Nature or the Countryside Council for Wales as appropriate in preparing the lists and to keep the lists under review and published.
178.Section 74(3) places a further duty on the Secretary of State and the National Assembly for Wales (the listing authorities) to take steps that are reasonably practicable to further the conservation of the listed habitat types and species and to promote the taking of such steps by others.
179.Section 75(1) introduces Schedule 9, which amends Part II of the 1981 Act to improve the protection of sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs). Schedule 9 is explained in more detail below.
180.Section 75(2) relates to SSSI notifications given under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. The majority of those sites have been re-notified under the 1981 Act and this subsection cancels any existing old notifications.
181.Section 75(3) relates to section 15(2) of the Countryside Act 1968, which enables the conservation agencies to enter into agreements with owners and occupiers of SSSIs and of other land adjacent to a SSSI for the purposes of conserving the special features of the SSSI. This section extends the agencies’ power so that they can enter into agreements with owners or occupiers of other land (not necessarily within or adjacent to a SSSI), for those purposes. An example would be for the protection of a water supply some way from the SSSI.
182.Section 75(4) inserts a new section 15A into the Countryside Act 1968. The new section gives the conservation agencies power to compulsorily purchase the land referred to in the above paragraph for the purposes of conserving the special features. There are safeguards for the owner of the land being compulsorily acquired. The compulsory purchase cannot take place unless the conservation agency are satisfied they cannot reach an agreement for the conservation of the SSSI or unless there has been a breach of an agreement for its conservation. The new section also provides that, having compulsorily acquired the land, the conservation agencies can manage it themselves or dispose of it on terms providing that another person will conserve the features of the SSSI.
183.Section 76(1). The 1981 Act provisions relating to SSSIs apply to England, Wales and Scotland while the amendments made to those provisions by this Act will apply only to England and Wales (SSSIs are a devolved matter). This section introduces Schedule 10, Part I of which makes the necessary consequential amendments in relation to provisions which will in future apply only in Scotland. Part II of Schedule 10 makes various amendments in relation to other legislation, mainly to introduce the term “site of special scientific interest” (a definition of which is inserted into the 1981 Act by paragraph 5(2) of Schedule 9 to the Act).
184.Section 76(2) introduces Schedule 11 which sets out the transitional provisions and savings for the purpose of applying the new provisions of the Act to existing SSSIs (notified under s28 of the 1981 Act).
185.Section 77 imposes on the Secretary of State a duty to notify the conservation agencies of sites designated under the 1971 Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance. Under this Convention, adopted at Ramsar in Iran, the United Kingdom is required to designate wetlands of international importance especially in relation to waterfowl, and generally to promote the wise use of wetlands. The conservation agencies are also required to notify owners and occupiers, and certain statutory bodies of the designation.
186.Section 78. Limestone pavements are rare and exceptional areas of fissured limestone. They are protected under section 34 of the 1981 Act which enables orders to be made to prevent the limestone from being disturbed or removed. This section amends the fines for removing or disturbing limestone, to match increased penalties (of up to £20,000) that may be imposed for damaging SSSIs.
187.Section 79 amends s50 of the 1981 Act, which relates to the making of payments under management agreements. It expands the scope of section 50 by deleting references to particular persons and substituting a reference to any person.
188.Section 80 amends section 51 of the 1981 Act which provides for powers of entry for giving proper effect to the nature conservation provisions in the Act. This section extends the conservation agencies’ powers of entry onto land (which is not limited to the potential or actual SSSI) for a range of specified purposes. These include assessing whether land should be notified as a SSSI; formulating a scheme for the management of a SSSI in order to conserve its special features; assessing the condition of the features on the site, and ascertaining whether an offence under Section 28P or under byelaws made by virtue of Section 28R of the 1981 Act has been committed. Entry to the land may be by vehicle or boat, and the person entering the land may take equipment or materials with him. The person entering the land must leave it as effectively secured as he found it and the agency will be liable to pay compensation for any damage caused by the exercise of the power of entry.
Introduction Commentary on sections Section 74: Conservation of biological diversity