The Essex Naturalist
143
Conservation in Essex: a view from English Nature
CHRIS GIBSON
English Nature, Harbour House, Hythe Quay, Colchester C02 8JF
Introduction
Nature conservation embraces the actions and aspirations of a diverse range of
organisations, both statutory and voluntary, land owners and managers,
specialist interest groups and the general public. Consequently, within the
conservation community there are numerous approaches and mechanisms which
aim to achieve effective conservation. From the statutory sector, one of the
more successful mechanisms is the notification, safeguarding and management of
Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). These form a framework for
conservation, a series of sites which is intended to protect representative
examples of all natural and semi-natural habitats, native species, and geological
and geomorphological features.
The designation of SSSI was first introduced by the National Parks and
Access to the Countryside Act, 1949, although it was the Wildlife and
Countryside Act, 1981 (with subsequent amendments) which gave it a strong
legal footing. The responsibility for implementing the legislation resides with
the statutory nature conservation agencies (formerly the Nature Conservancy
Council, now - in England - English Nature), but success in these conservation
efforts is dependent upon the co-operation of many other agencies, local
authorities and, crucially, the owners and managers of the SSSIs.
As we approach the Millennium, English Nature believes that the process of
notification is now substantially complete. There are unlikely to be many further
major notifications, at least locally, although there will always be a need for
readjustments to the series to accommodate changes in our knowledge base, and
to respond to the inevitable changes in individual site quality. The time is
therefore appropriate to reflect upon the achievements of SSSIs in the county
context, the resource which is thus secured, and the way that Essex-based
naturalists might contribute to future successes in nature conservation.
The Essex picture
At present, there are 85 SSSIs which lie wholly or partly within the modern
county of Essex, covering in excess of 35,000 hectares (ha) of land, and
involving around a thousand land owners and occupiers. A further four sites are
located within Metropolitan Essex. These figures represent 2% of the number
and 4% of the area of SSSIs in England as a whole, a significant proportion
especially given the popular perception of Essex as a 'wildlife-free zone'. Our
sites range in size from more than 10,000 ha of coastlands at Foulness, down to
several geological SSSIs which are less than 1 ha in extent. The distribution of
SSSIs mirrors closely the distribution of semi-natural habitats within the county