Business and the natural environment

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Minister for the natural environment, Richard Benyon has said the government is unable to offer assurances about the future of the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF).

Speaking at a reception in Parliament hosted jointly by the Mineral Products Association and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Benyon noted the importance of the scheme to the natural environment, but stressed that in times of economic hardship, "difficult decisions must be made".

The government announced in December that the fund, which supports projects that aim to reduce the impact of the extraction of aggregates on local communities and the natural environment, will cease in March.

The ALSF was introduced with the aggregates levy to ensure a proportion of the tax revenue (about 7 per cent) is used to support local community, conservation and other projects.

An independent assessment of the ALSF in 2010 indicated that it represented very good value for money and government has announced that the aggregates levy will be increased in April.

Nigel Jackson, chief executive of the Mineral Products Association (MPA), spoke of the great benefit the fund has brought to local communities thus far, and the opportunities it could have created in the future:

"We were hoping we could go further to use the fund to help deliver localism," he said.

RSPB and the MPA work in partnership with Natural England on the 'Nature after Minerals' programme, to support the minerals industry in habitat creation following aggregates extraction.

This programme is made possible through the ALSF and research has indicated that restortion of minerals sites could meet and exceed most of government's biodiversity action plan targets

Benyon called the programme a wonderful example of business working with an NGO and the voluntary sector to achieve something really special, in helping to reverse the decline of biodiversity.

Host of the event and green champion, Martin Horwood MP spoke of his delight to hear representatives from the RSPB, "extolling the virtues of business and the potential of business to contribute to the natural environment".

In the opinion of Poul Christensen, chairman of Natural England, the contribution of the mineral products industry hasn’t always received the recognition that it deserves, from either government or stakeholders.

He quoted Professor John Lawton, author of the report, 'Making space for nature', in his praise of the way the minerals industry has contributed to nature.

"Nature after minerals has directly contributed to the restoration of 1,800 hectares of mineral sites into habitats where wildlife thrive and nature flourishes," he said.

"Our natural environment is our life support system and the mineral products industry is playing a major part in restoring and maintaining it."

The Lawton review demonstrated the ability of aggregate sites to contribute to the natural environment, something the government wishes to build on through its natural environment white paper, due to be released in the spring.