Less Favoured and Environmentally Sensitive Areas in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Membership of the European Economic Community (EC) has had a far reaching impact upon environmental regulation in the UK not least with respect to agricultural policy. For example, it has been necessary to put the Pesticides Safety Precaution Scheme governing the licencing and use of pesticides on a mandatory basis because the existing informal UK procedures were in breach of the free trade provisions of the Treaty of Rome (Wathern & Baldock, 1987). Similarly, the UK was forced to outlaw the use of hormone growth regulators in livestock farming rather than accept the political embarassment of dual standards for food quality involving food for export having to meet higher standards than that for home consumption (Wathern & Baldock, 1987). Similarly, it took an EC Directive on environmental assessment to force consideration of the ennvonmental impacts of certain categories of agricultural projects and of afforestation, something that the environmental lobby failed to achieve in nearly forty years of campaigning (Wather, 1989). Thus, it can be seen that environmental regulation and policy style in the UK is influenced significantly by EC membership. However, this is also a forum in which the UK is able to exert an influence. This interplay is evident in relation to the rural environment. By far the greatest influence of the EC upon the rural environment is through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Most of the massive CAP budget goes into support for large intensive farms (the guarantee section), with relatively little to aid the small farmer. Jenkin (1990) estimates that in 1989 a mere 4.9% was allotted to the guidance section which mainly benefits small farmers, even though the