Concerns are growing that urgent plans for marine reserves in the seas surrounding the UK, which are vital to the future of many species, may be delayed. Michael Gross reports.

The UK government's Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is facing a financial crisis, and it looks like the environment will have to foot the bill. Unexpected expenses resulting from last winter's avian flu threat and from the revamp of the farm subsidies system have produced a cash flow problem for the agency.

Rather than paying these exceptional costs from a contingency fund, the government decreed at the beginning of August that the department must cover them by slashing its current spending by more than £200 million, corresponding to 7 per cent of its annual budget.

Survey work on seven marine reserves is now seen as threatened

As only half of the budget year remains to implement these savings, a range of activities supported by DEFRA will have to be cancelled or postponed. For instance, flood defence measures that had already been agreed and budgeted will not be completed by the coming winter. Even if they are spared flooding while they wait for the work to be started, people in affected areas will face higher insurance premiums because of the delay.

Another key casualty of the spending cut will be the new integrated government agency ‘Natural England’, which was due to be formally established in October. Natural England is the result of a merger of three parts, comprising the entire English Nature, some parts of the Countryside Agency, and some of the Rural Development Service.