Friends of the Earth identify nature pollution hotspots

New research by Friends of the Earth has identified which areas of the country have levels of air, water, noise and light pollution levels that exceed safe thresholds for wildlife.

The results have been plotted onto a map, which can be viewed here. The worst areas in the country were found to be in London and the North West, with Chelsea and Fulham identified as the neighbourhood with the highest concentration of these ‘pollution hotspots’. Dishonorable mentions also go to Salford (below), Worsley and Eccles, Vauxhall and Camberwell, and Battersea.  

The Friends of the Earth analysis examined Lower Super Output Areas (which they refer to as neighbourhoods), which are geographic areas with similar population sizes of around 1,500 people or 650 households.

The research found that that over a quarter of these neighbourhoods (9,062 out of 32,844), can be described as pollution hotspots, where air, water, noise and light pollution are all at levels considered to be detrimental to nature.

The impact of the four different sources of pollution can be summarised as follows: 

• Water pollution is the most obviously damaging to wildlife;  raw sewage and chemicals are toxic to many animals while nutrients from sewage encourage algal blooms which such the oxygen out of the water.
• Noise pollution affects the ability of over 100 species of birds, mammals and reptiles to communicate and find food, resulting in biodiversity loss.
• Light pollution affects nocturnal creatures such as bats who will avoid well-lit areas, something that’s becoming increasingly difficult as artificial light encroaches further into their habitats. Four of the 11 mammals native to Britain at imminent risk of extinction are bat species. 
• We have discussed how air pollution affects pollinators in the past but two-thirds of Britain’s native plant life is threatened by nitrogen from the air pollution generated by cars.

Friends of the Earth is calling for the a new Environmental Rights Act which would empower communities to hold regulators and public bodies to account to reduce the multiple layers of pollution affecting their areas to protect wildlife as well as themselves.

Sienna Somers, nature campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: ‘Successive governments have failed to protect our environment from pollution and ensure people can continue to enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits of thriving nature. That’s why we’ve ranked pollution hotspots based on constituencies, so citizens and MPs alike can see how pollution impacts their local area and take action.

‘What harms wildlife often harms people as well. Many of us are forced to breathe the same dirty air and live near sewage-infested rivers. While we can choose to avoid these polluted waters, many precious species cannot steer clear of the pollution we pump into their living rooms.

‘Polluters must be held accountable for the harm they cause and forced to clean it up. Stronger laws to hold polluters accountable would also give power back to communities to defend our rights in court, creating a cleaner and healthier environment for wildlife and people alike.’