Biofuel threat to wildlife

The growing demand for new crops of biofuel plants – potentially one of the greatest changes in agriculture for generations – could present yet another threat to British wildlife, according to a warning issued today by some of the country’s leading scientists.

With the world’s oil and natural gas reserves increasingly at risk because of political turmoil, the large-scale planting of biofuel crops like oilseed rape, willow and even elephant grass could soon become a norm in many areas of Britain.
But a group of leading environmentalists is asking the Government to ensure that regulations are introduced to ensure that such areas of “mono-culture” to not add further threats to wildlife that has already suffered badly under modern farming techniques.

Eleven of the country’s leading conservation bodies joined together to produce a report called Bioenergy in the UK, which was published this morning. Although welcoming biofuels as an important new “green” energy source, it warns:

“Without proper management, cultivation of crops for fuel, electricity and heat could cause further declines of farmland wildlife, damage the character of landscapes, harm historic and archaeological sites and damage soil and water quality.”

Yorkshire Dales