UK's wildlife at risk of disappearing

LONDON: Some of the most precious wildlife in Britain are at risk of being lost forever, said a report, which shows that UK's biodiversity today is significantly less rich than it was 50 years ago.

"If we don't act now, there's a real danger some of our most precious wildlife will be lost for ever and our lives will be poorer for it," said Helen Phillips, chief executive of Natural England, the government advisory body that compiled the findings of the research.

'The State of the Environment' report indicates that Britain's biodiversity has slumped significantly in comparison to 50 years ago.

According to the report, only 3 per cent of grassland is rich in native plants and a fifth of the countryside is already showing signs of neglect. The collapse of this habitat is having a devastating effect on native species, including the red squirrel, the turtle dove, the bumblebee and the adder.

"England needs a new approach to conservation if we are to effectively tackle the modern pressures on land created by climate change and development," Phillips was quoted as saying by The Independent daily of Britain.

According to the report, numbers of native woodland butterflies species have declined by 50 per cent over the last decade, and their demise is all the more worrying as they act as a litmus test for the health of the natural world. Moreover salt marsh is fast disappearing at an annual rate of 1 per cent, partly as walls are built to combat rising sea levels.

Aggressive fishing is affecting not only fish stocks but also other marine life, such as the pink sea fan, which is threatened by scallop dredging, the report said. It noted that monocultures and industrial farming have significantly affected native species such as the cornflower.