Helen Phillips: Nature is a necessity, not a luxury
Monday, 19 May 2008
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The richness and diversity of England's natural environment is under threat. Wildlife is being squeezed into ever-diminishing spaces as we seek land for housing, for roads, for agriculture, for energy and for recreation. Our population continues to grow. The impacts of changing climate exacerbate the problems.
For too long the natural world has been treated as a luxury, a nice-to-have, optional extra. The vital public services that it provides for everyone in this country have been taken for granted. Not only does it give us the basic necessities of life – clean air, clean water and productive soils – but it provides the raw materials for sustainable energy production and construction. It is our natural health service, with the potential to make a major contribution to the health and wellbeing of the nation, free for everyone to use. And our natural environment provides the foundations of our cultural identity, brings pleasure to millions and underpins our tourism and recreation industries. And as climate change begins to bite, it becomes even more important in its capacity to store carbon, soak up excess water and channel run-off naturally away from our towns and cities.
Natural England's State of the Natural Environment 2008 report, published today, shows that wildlife inside protected areas such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest is, for the time being, on sound footing. But outside nature's gated communities the diversity and local distinctiveness of our wildlife and landscapes is in long-term decline.
We have also today published a Manifesto for the Natural Environment, calling for policy makers to value the services provided by nature and to hard-wire concern for the natural environment into all aspects of public policy – health, transport, energy, planning, education and economic. For example, we are calling for a national flood management strategy that works with nature, not against it, using our wetlands to store floodwater. We think that there is an urgent need for a strategic assessment of the options for energy generation, rather than the current piecemeal approach. How, for example, can an informed decision be made about whether to threaten one of Europe's most important wildlife sites – the Severn estuary – for a tidal barrage, when we don't have a clear view of the opportunities for renewable energy in other parts of the country? The time is right to set a new course – one that considers the impact of any decision on the natural environment and values the unpriced public services that it provides.
Helen Phillips is chief executive of Natural England
I live in the Garden of England and am increasingly concerned as to the developments taking over our countryside. 'Economic Progress' is diminishing Agricultural Land at an astonishing rate. The Government's quest to bring business to the UK seems to have blinded local councils from preserving the natural environment and instead opened the flood gates to developers who are purchasing green belt like there's no tomorrow. I am currently objecting to a project that proposes to build over 100 acres of agricultural land AND a Water Catchment Area and Aquifer. But I fear our objections will not be heard over 'economic progress'. I understand the need for economic growth but surely not at the cost of our environment. Why aren't designated employment areas being used to their full potential? Is it cheaper to concrete over the countryside?
Posted by Amy | 20.05.08, 20:24 GMT
One issue: biological diversity in the UK has been undervalued by its would-be protectors. UK environmentalists have historically been more interested in 'exotic' environments and in developing countries eco-systems. The big UK Eco-NGOs such as FOE haven't had a lot to say about bees and butterflies. The small-scale world has been left to people like the Wildlife Trusts who have much smaller budgets and are far less fashionable. Conservation programmes often focus on the top of the food chain and ignore the foundations of that chain - i.e. insects and plant life. Nature programmes on TV are invariably set in exotic locations that CV-conscious wildlife cameramen want to go to. Most of us know more about the breeding habits of lions than of the honey bee, so it's hardly surprising we don't appreciate the latter as much as we should when we're constantly told that 'nature' is something that happens in African safari parks. Things like Springwatch are a change in the right direction.
Posted by AP | 19.05.08, 10:21 GMT
I view with concern to what is happening Britain's countryside and this is one of the main reasons why we moved to France to undertake a conservation project where we are still able to protect and conserve our meadows and woods from development. Wild flowers abound by the road side with huge numbers of invertebrates and bird life. However we wonder if France will follow the UK in the destuction of biodiversity in the pursuit of 'economic progress'. Ecologically rich landscapes are not just for leisure but an essential component of our well being and indicative of a healthy ecosystem.
David Barker, ecologist.
Posted by David Barker | 19.05.08, 09:48 GMT
SALUTATORY warning?
It's not as serious as the environment being depleted of its diversity, but what on earth is a salutatory warning? And why would one wish to place those words next to one another on the front page of a newspaper?
Posted by SteinXL | 19.05.08, 09:39 GMT
So will the Independent now back calls for an end to immigration in the UK? 2.2 million people since 1997, 2/3 of whom are from outside the EU (and therefore could have been refused entry or sent home once they came in).
Posted by Russell Long | 19.05.08, 08:59 GMT
Economic sustainability is no cliche, it is fact. Friedman free-market capitalism is finished, and history, far being finished, will show how greed almost destroyed the human race. Social Democratic and Natural Capitalism's more holistic approach to earth's biosphere and resources, has a better chance of keeping us alive.
Posted by John | 19.05.08, 02:13 GMT