Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, along with other environmental organisations, is today calling for tougher laws to protect our most important wildlife sites. This call for new legislation will be highlighted when 22 conservation organisations, including The Wildlife Trusts, present Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott with 250,000 pledges to demonstrate the strength of public opinion in favour of better wildlife laws.

English Nature, the Government's nature conservation agency, reports that 9 out of Warwickshire 50 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) have been damaged in the 1990's. The picture in the West Midlands is even worse with 7 out of 22 damaged.

Locally we are able to celebrate a success story for conservation, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust will tomorrow celebrate the establishment of its latest nature reserve, Claybrookes Marsh SSSI (previously known as Herald Way Marsh), which is adjacent to the A46 Coventry Eastern Bypass. This site was saved from development following a long campaign by the Trust and the local community. Coventry City Council have now confirmed their commitment to the long term conservation of the site by leasing it to the Trust.

Andrew Thompson, the Trust's Conservation Manager said:

"The story of Claybrookes Marsh is encouraging, however it should not be necessary for major campaigns to be run to save sites of this importance. We need new legislation to ensure that our most special wildlife areas are protected and properly managed."

He added

"If we are to succeed in achieving the targets adopted by the Government in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan we need not only to protect all our remaining important wildlife sites but also to ensure that the countryside, towns and cities all become more attractive to wildlife."