Banning environmental campaigning groups

9.44.47am UTC (GMT +0000) Sun 29th Jul 2007

The Cliffe Lobby of Parliament

According to the Independent earlier this week (I have only just had a chance to read it) the British Airports Authority has begun moves to allow police to arrest members of 15 environment groups to prevent demonstrations against airport expansion. The proposed ban is aimed at the umbrella organisation AirportWatch which contains such groups as the RSPB, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and the National Trust, at first glance all fairly 'safe organisations' or are they. When I worked at the RSPB I was responsible for organising the mass lobby of Parliament against the creation of the Cliffe Airport - we won, no airport was built - are they just afraid that these 'safe' organisations are actually very good campaigning organisations?

The Cliffe Marshes are part of the Thames Estuary and Marshes SPA, designated for its internationally important populations of wintering birds. As part of the strategic review for the development of airport capacity the Government identified and consulted on a new four runway airport. The site regularly supports some 33,000 wintering waterfowl, of which avocets and ringed plovers occur in internationally important numbers in their own right. In summer, the site supports important breeding populations of avocets, marsh harriers, Mediterranean gulls and little terns. We launched a major campaign against the Cliffe option. Its adoption would have resulted in the biggest single act of destruction to a SSSI, SPA, Ramsar site or RSPB nature reserve in the UK ever.

Whilst at the RSPB I organised part of the campaign that prevented GM Crops being grown in the European Union and worked on reform on the EU's CAP moving it away from growth of excess food towards a more environmental scheme. The RSPB, and the other organisations, have good track records at campaigning could this ban be more about than anything else?