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A future for Hatfield Moor, Thorne Moor and Wedholme Flow in the UK

For immediate release - 18 August 2000

Joint statement of the Peatlands Campaign Consortium

The Irish Peatland Conservation Council in association with the undersigned
organisations warmly welcome the UK Government's proposed designation of
Hatfield Moor, Thorne Moor and Wedholme Flow as Special Areas of
Conservation (SAC), under the EU Habitats Directive. We call on The Scotts
Company, as the current occupier of these three sites, to accept the
environmental responsibilities that fall on them as a consequence of the
proposed designations. We call on them also, to recognise the economic and
social benefits that the designations may bring to the local communities
near these sites.

SAC status confirms, beyond any doubt, that these three peatlands are
amongst the very best examples of wildlife habitat in the European Union,
and that they are of international importance for nature conservation.

There is now a real opportunity for the three local communities near these
sites to benefit economically from the wildlife on their doorsteps.
Long-term, year-round jobs could be created through habitat restoration and
management programmes. If managed sustainably, wildlife tourism could
attract visitors and investment into these local economies indefinitely.

This is in stark contrast to the bleak economic future that was offered by
continued peat extraction on these sites. Sooner or later, once each bog had
been exhausted of its commercially viable peat reserves, The Scotts Company
would have abandoned Hatfield Moor, Thorne Moor, and Wedholme Flow. They
would have left behind degraded landscapes offering little potential for
attracting visitors and tourism income.

But the proposed designations provide The Scotts Company with a unique
opportunity to establish a legacy of promise rather than hardship.

We call on The Scotts Company to cease peat extraction on these sites
immediately.

The Scotts Company has already extracted massive quantities of peat and
reaped significant financial benefit from these sites. Continued peat
extraction will reduce the future wildlife, tourism and economic potential
of the sites and the long-term benefit to the local communities.

We call on The Scotts Company to hand back to the local communities any
compensation payments it may possibly receive from the UK Government for
leaving these sites. The money should be placed into a trust fund to support
job creation through the development of habitat restoration programmes and
wildlife tourism facilities.

The Scotts Company had total sales last year of $1.75 billion (£1.21
billion), and made a gross profit $718.3 million (£495.4m). It spent $209.2
million (£144.3m) on "Advertising and Promotion" alone [1]. Handing the
compensation payments back to the local community would be a small price to
pay for The Scotts Company, for establishing goodwill in the UK market
place.

We call on The Scotts Company to lead the horticultural and gardening
industry away from environmentally damaging products based on peat and to
embrace products that are environmentally sustainable.

The Scotts Company considers itself to be "the global leader of consumer
lawn and garden products" [2] and it claims to take its "responsibilities to
the environment very seriously indeed" [3].

It has a duty to ensure that the end of peat extraction in one location does
not result in the start of environmentally damaging peat extraction
elsewhere. It should use its position in the global market place to ensure
that tomorrow's markets in growing-media do not share the same devastating
environmental impact of those of today.

The Scott's factories near these three sites, which currently package peat
from across the British Isles, are well placed to manufacture and package
peat-free growing media, notably that made from "green waste". This would
place The Scotts Company, and these factories, at the forefront of new
environmental technologies, and would provide local people with a strong
stake in a sunrise industry.

EDITORS NOTES:

[1] Figures for period of Twelve Months Ended July 1, 2000, as listed in The
Results of Operations for The Scotts Company and Subsidiaries, Financial
Statement, The Scotts Company, Ohio.

[2] Quoted from The Scotts Company website, http://www.scottscompany.com/

[3] As quoted in letter from Nick Kirkbride, Managing Director, Scotts (UK)
to Craig Bennett, Peatland Campaign Consortium, 19th May 1999.

SIGNED:
Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC)
Friends of the Earth (England, Wales and Northern Ireland).
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)

SPOKESPERSON:

Dr Peter Foss, IPCC

ENDS