Wildlife warning over EU funding

21 June 2011 Last updated at 13:08 GMT Farmers can receive thousands of pounds for initiatives boosting wildlife on their land More than ?400m worth of funding from Europe to promote wildlife on farmland in the UK could be about to be stopped, conservationists have warned.

The RSPB fears the money provided through the Common Agricultural Policy will be the victim of EU spending cuts.

The charity said such a move would be "savage" and could threaten the recovery of many wildlife species.

The government said the initiative was good value and any cuts should target farm subsidies for food production.

Under the terms of the Common Agricultural Policy, farmers are paid subsidies for the food they produce. Officially these direct payments - the lion's share of the CAP - are known as "Pillar One".

Many farmers across Europe also receive payments which can amount to thousands of pounds for developing initiatives on their land aimed at promoting biodiversity and wildlife. These rural development payments are called "Pillar Two".

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Our countryside has faced many threats, but this would be really savage. We're staggered.”

End Quote Martin Harper RSPB conservation director 'Ultimate extinction' The RSPB said it understood the European Union was considering scrapping the Pillar Two payments to save money.

RSPB conservation director Martin Harper said: "Our countryside has faced many threats, but this would be really savage. We're staggered.

"Rewarding farmers for protecting threatened wildlife has provided a lifeline to many sensitive species, which would otherwise have ebbed away.

"If the EU continues with this plan there is no doubt that wildlife will suffer, with the possible ultimate UK extinction of some threatened species including the turtle dove and cirl bunting."

The RSPB, the UK's largest conservation group, said hedges, stone walls and waterways could also be affected.

The UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) echoed the RSPB's concerns.

A Defra spokesperson said the CAP budget "needs to decrease very substantially - but cuts should be focused on Pillar One. We're concerned by rumours that Pillar Two may be disproportionately in the firing line.

"Pillar Two is better value for money, contributing to economic growth, supporting the environment and agricultural competitiveness, and should have a larger share of a smaller CAP budget."

Proposals for the EU's new budget will be announced on 29 June.

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Health warning to festival goers

21 June 2011 Last updated at 13:36 GMT Crowds create infection risks Too much alcohol, drugs, and sex, coupled with poor hygiene, can be a health risk at festivals, an expert is warning.

Sunburn, heat stroke, sprains and other minor ailments make up most casualties at music events, says Dr Mark Salter of the Health Protection Agency.

But there are occasional reports of sexual health problems, heart attacks and chest complaints.

Avoiding doing anything to excess is the best way to stay healthy, he adds.

Dr Salter, a consultant in communicable disease control at the HPA's Health Protection Unit in the South West has been attending festivals, including Glastonbury, for 20 years, to offer health protection advice.

Continue reading the main story Anyone who is unwell before a festival, particularly with diarrhoea and sickness, should not go to prevent spreading infection Take a good supply of existing medicines and pack them in luggageFind out where health services are at the festival, and seek help if you fall illDrinking water should be taken from potable water taps which are signpostedSource: Dr Mark Salter, HPAHis "top tips" for surviving festivals include using condoms, drinking plenty of water from a safe source, wearing a hat and sunscreen, and washing hands thoroughly after using the toilet.

Dr Salter said: "Avoid doing anything to excess is the best way to protect your health if you are visiting a festival this year.

"My experience of providing health advice and assistance at festivals for over 20 years tells me that people generally end up being unwell due to the combination of too much alcohol, drugs, sex and less than ideal hygiene.

"It is inevitable when suddenly thousands of people crowd together at a rural site with no fixed toilet system or bathing facilities and lots of alcoholic drinks that some people will become unwell as the risk of infection increases.

"It is therefore essential to follow good hygiene practices and wash your hands thoroughly after using the toilets."

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Tree-frogs act as Amazon warning

13 June 2011 Last updated at 09:50 Amazonian tree-frogs are exceedingly well established Tree-frog hot spots in the Amazon have been established over tens of millions of years, say scientists.

To explain why some areas have greater species richness, experts analysed the distribution of 360 tree-frog species.

They found that the most diverse sites were established over 60 million years ago and more recently colonised areas had fewer unique species.

Researchers suggest this is evidence that damaged rainforest could take millions of years to recover.

Continue reading the main story The Amazonian region of Colombia has the highest tree-frog species richness on the planetGlobally, species can vary dramatically. The gladiator frog pictured has enlarged spiny "thumbs" for fighting Tree-frogs can range in size from roughly palm sized to roughly thumbnail sized Scientists from Stony Brook University, New York, US, aimed to shed light on an ongoing debate with their study published in the journal Ecology Letters.

"The question of why there are more species in the tropics has been a puzzle to biologists for more than 200 years, and a particularly challenging part of the problem is to explain why some sites in the rainforest can have more species than an entire continent," explained principal investigator Dr John Wiens.

In the past, species richness had been attributed to climate and some scientists believed that the biodiversity of tropical rainforest was due to their hot wet conditions.

However, by studying the distribution of 360 different tree-frog species from around the world, Dr Wiens found that not all tropical rainforest habitats were home to many different species.

"We found that many tropical rainforest sites have the same, limited number of tree-frog species as some sites in the temperate zone," he said.

"These tropical rainforest sites with low species diversity are in regions that have been colonized by tree-frogs relatively recently, like northwestern South America, Central America, and Australia."

By analysing the DNA relationships between species, Dr Wiens and his colleagues were able to map tree-frog evolution to understand where and when they originated.

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The loss of species richness during our lifetimes may actually take tens of millions of to recover from”

End Quote Dr John Wiens The team discovered that areas of high species richness were established before the dinosaurs became extinct.

"The Amazon rainforest have large numbers of tree-frog species per site because tree-frogs have been present and producing new species [there] for more than sixty million years," said Dr Wiens.

The suggestion that high species diversity is established over millions of years could have serious implications for vulnerable habitats.

"As more of the Amazon rainforest is being destroyed and more species are driven to extinction by human activities, the loss of species richness during our lifetimes may actually take tens of millions of to recover from," Dr Wiens warned.

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