This snapshot taken on 06/05/2007, shows web content selected for preservation by The National Archives. External links, forms and search boxes may not work in archived websites.

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Environmental protection

• Air Quality
• Business & the Environment
• Chemicals
• Climate Change
• Consumer Products
• Economics & Analysis
• Energy: Sustainable Energy
• Environmental Liability
• Farming & the Environment
• GM (Genetic Modification)
• Land - soil & contamination
• Local Environment Quality
• Noise
• Pollution Prevention & Control
• Radioactivity
• Recycling & Waste
• Statistics
• Sustainable Development
• Water issues
• Other material

Introduction to Environmental Protection

Our aim is to protect and improve the environment, and to integrate the environment with other policies across Government and in international fora. Effective protection of the environment requires activity on many wide-ranging different fronts - for example, from acting to limit global environmental threats (such as global warming) to safeguarding individuals from the effects of poor air quality or toxic chemicals. It is one of the four objectives of sustainable development. Actions to protect the environment also produce benefits such as housing (through improved energy efficiency of buildings), social progress (through action to combat fuel poverty) and economic growth (through more efficient use of resources, such as re-use, recycling and recovery of waste).

Our main sections of material are indexed in the subject areas accessed via the navigation bar on the left. Remaining material is covered in the following alphabetical list:

• Committees - short cuts to web sites for our advisory committee etc
• Environmental Action Fund
• Environment Agency (Defra Sponsorship)
• Environmental Liability
• Environmental Permitting Programme
• Environmental research newsletter
• Environmental risks and accidents
• CBRN guidance
• International issues - including the Aarhus Convention (international democracy), biological diversity; illegal logging; Darwin Initiative; Environment for Europe Fund; Research; European Awards for the Environment; EU LIFE Fund; Kiev Environment for Europe Conference (May 2003); UNEP.
• Nanotechnology
• Ecosystems and natural environmental protection
• National Environmental Health Action Plan - For historical reference purposes only
• Review of environmental enforcement
• Public access to environmental information - Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) 2004
• Responses (to Parliamentary and other reports)
• Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution

Contacting Defra

Details of Defra's central Helpline are on the "Contacting Defra" page of the web site. Within our information on environmental protection issues, we aim to include appropriate enquiry points within individual subject pages.

External links - Defra programmes, campaigns, agencies etc

• Environment Agency
• United Kingdom Clearing-House Mechanism (UK CHM)
• Drinking Water Inspectorate
• Info4local provides a quick way of locating and accessing a wide variety of information specifically identified as relevant to local authorities, together with a subscription service for e-mail alerts of relevant new material.
• IMPEL - European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law; an informal Network of environmental authorities of the Member States of the European Union.

Useful links - legal documents

UK Statutory Instruments

• UK Statutory Instruments are available on the Office of Public Sector Information website

EU documents

• European Union website
• European Union legal documents
• The public register of Council Documents can be used to locate latest texts
• The current stage of the European Parliament's consideration can be obtained using the European Parliament's Legislative Observatory

Page last modified: 27 April 2007

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