Environment Agency’s roles & responsibilities
We have an important role in conservation and ecology. We have a duty under the Environment Act 1995 to have a regard for conservation with respect to its pollution control and waste management functions and to further conservation with respect to all of its other functions.
Key environmental problems
Habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, loss of biodiversity, loss of protected species, disturbance to ecosystems, risk to unprotected habitats.
Our long-term objective
Wildlife will thrive in urban and rural areas. Habitats will improve in their extent and quality to sustainable levels for the benefit of all species. Everyone will understand the importance of safeguarding biodiversity. See An enhanced environment for wildlife, below.
Information and advice from us
- Endangered wildlife and habitats, mammals, birds, fish, invertebrates, freshwater habitats and plants. See Environmental facts and figures, below.
- Riverside Explorer is an interactive, educational CD-ROM based on the Environment Agency's River Habitat Survey database. See also the Conservation, Access & Recreation (CAR) Report 2003/04.
- For information on fisheries, including national fisheries publications, click on Fish (below) for the Environment Agency’s fisheries pages.
Mitigation opportunities
- River corridor restoration
- Policy wording
- Refined alternatives
- Restoration of river and wetland.
Case studies
Click on the Case studies link below to read the following relative case studies:
- Humber Estuary Flood Management Strategy
- Offshore Oil and Gas Licensing
- Willingdon Levels Flood Storage Compensatory Scheme
- Broadland Flood Alleviation Project
