Today's a busy day.
Later this morning, Michael Gove is giving a speech about his upcoming Environment Bill and what he wants to see in it. This is an important moment and we will be giving the content close scrutiny to see if it matches previous positive rhetoric.
This evening, the RSPB will be hosting a panel debate in Westminster on the future of driven grouse moors. How can grouse moor management change in order to be sustainable, given the growing consensus that we face an ecological & climate emergency, and given the ongoing illegal killing of raptors? I'm sure there will lively debate.
More on both these subjects later. First, I want to highlight the launch of the final report of the RSA’s Food, Farming and Countryside Commission report. The commission is to be applauded for the lengths they had gone to, to engage communities across the country, build on good foundations and seek out new approaches. The hard work and commitment to driving change is evident. I respect the fact that they do not shy away from seemingly intractable issues which require more work to facilitate change.
The report is exactly right in its assertion that collective action is required – it is everyone’s job to help address the climate and ecological crisis – business, government, individuals and civil society. It includes a plethora of ideas, some which it feels can be implemented now, some which it suggests testing and others debating.
There is much, though not all, we would agree with and some interesting food for thought but there are three elements that I particularly want to reflect on here, one under each of the three headings in the report.
Colin Wilkinson (rspb-images.com)
It quickly becomes clear to anyone working on saving farmland nature that food and farming are inextricably linked. We will not address our declining wildlife if we don’t also improve our food system. Back in 2014, the RSPB worked with a range of partners to produce the Square Meal report which called for better policy linkage between food, farming, nature and health. It is heartening that we now have a Good Food Nation Bill being discussed in Scotland and a Food Strategy consultation underway in England.
Most welcome in the RSA report is the call for ‘a strong and escalating regulatory baseline, and a level playing field, so that business activities which deplete public value are curtailed.’ The fact that forward thinking business recognised that regulation is not a dirty word and in fact helps them raise their game chimes with the work we do with business. It should be a wake-up call to those who seek to undermine current standards or suggest they are a drag on businesses. At a time when we need rapid change, regulation is the fastest route. The reliance on voluntary approaches has been shown to be much less effective.
As I highlighted in my blog a few weeks ago we must rule out signing trade deals with countries that are not implementing the Paris Agreement or upholding human rights and environmental standards. Standards around food and farming are central to this.
It is also fantastic to see this section highlight the importance of connecting people with nature – which is something we are at the RSPB are passionate about, and which is the driving force behind our annual Big Garden and Big Schools Birdwatch.
A better food system will help shape a better farming system. We welcome the report’s ambition of a ten-year transition plan for sustainable agroecological farming by 2030. This chimes with our aim of make food and farming more nature friendly. This means using land more intelligently. In some areas this may mean less production, taking land out of production to focus on other services such as nature, flood defence or climate mitigation. It may require changing approaches to gain a better balance between production and other service e.g. reducing stocking densities to improve profitability and environmental outcomes. Hill Top farm is a great example of this.
In other areas we need to encourage high yields, produced in a sustainable manner, ensuring our farming system provides great food whilst reducing its impact and also producing the resources nature needs in the wider landscape to support production. This will safeguard our long-term capacity and help avoid ‘off-shoring’ our impact.
Getting the transition right will be crucial. We outlined some of our ideas in our response to Defra‘s consultation last year. We agree that no regrets payments for public investment setting out the scale of ambition is key. Work we have done with partners assessing the costs of environmental land management in the UK is currently being updated but already demonstrates that significant investment is required if we are to enhance the environment and meet the Sustainable Development Goals.
One the proposals in the FFC commission report we would take issue with though is the suggestion of a basic payment in return for gathering and submitting data and engaging in CPD. Future payments must demonstrate good value for public purse and should be based on delivering benefits and demonstrating impact. Data collection and ongoing monitoring should be a part of any future public goods policies, but we need to set much higher expectations than this for any future public investment. At the same time we need to ensure that we pay a fair price for food and that the producers receive a fair return. A food system built on vibrant local food economies, transparent short supply chains will ensure that value is retained and invested in the countryside.
Finally, one of the recommendations in the third section of the report is a Land use framework for England including an evidence base mapping England’s natural assets. Two years ago I reported on the publication of our own natural capital account, and more recently our carbon in nature rich areas story maps demonstrate the potential to target action to benefit nature and carbon. We agree with the commission that the development of this framework would help society get the best from our land and better manage competing pressures.
There is much in the report for further discussion and debate, but it is crucial that we begin to make changes now. The opportunities highlighted in the report could boost not only our own health but natures health too.
We look forward to working with the commission in helping to implement some of its recommendations to secure a better food and farming future.