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293 wildlife sites in Britain at risk from fracking for shale oil: RSPB

Xinhua, September 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Wednesday warned that some 293 wildlife sites in Britain were at risk from fracking for shale oil or gas, which the government has authorized.

The RSPB said its conclusions were based on a full analysis of the areas of land that local government had offered to energy companies to explore for oil and gas.

A total of 293 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) have been included in the 159 oil and gas licenses that local government have offered to energy companies to date, according to the analysis.

An SSSI is a conservation designation given to a protected area in Britain, often protecting a certain species or habitats.

The total area of SSSIs within the licenses blocks totals 10,722 hectares, which is less than 1 per cent of the total area offered to fracking companies.

Nine RSPB nature reserves are also included within the licensed areas including Bempton Cliffs, which is home to one of Europe's largest seabird colony.

"We simply don't understand why SSSIs, some of the UK's best and most sensitive wildlife sites and landscapes, aren't being offered full protection from fracking, when National Parks, World Heritage Sites and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty are being excluded from fracking completely," said Martin Harper, RSPB conservation director.

"The government still has a chance, before these fracking licenses are finalized, to fulfill its promise and protect SSSIs -- and the RSPB is urging them to do so," he added.

The wildlife sites affected by the new licenses issues by the British government do not currently include any sites in Scotland. There is currently a moratorium on unconventional gas (shale gas and coal bed methane) in Scotland pending a full public consultation on unconventional gas impacts. Endit