Last Monday the RSPB had a productive meeting with the Environment Secretary, Rt Hon Liz Truss MP. It was a great opportunity to reflect on the challenges facing the incoming government after the May election.
I was joined by people with whom the RSPB has built excellent working relationships: farmers Robert Law and Jack Edge, Cemex director Martin Casey and Alistair Chisholm, head of policy for CIWEM.
Although our primary interests differ, it was not difficult to sing from the same hymn sheet...
Verse 1: make it easy for farmers to look after their natural assets especially farmland wildlife. Robert and Jack embody everything that we have come to expect from progressive farmers – keen to grow food while providing homes for wildlife. Well funded and well designed agri-environment schemes are key to their success and here, I think Defra have a really good story to tell. The department has an excellent track-record in learning from nearly twenty years worth of experience and the result is that each generation of agri-environment schemes is more effective than the last. I look forward to the impact of the new Countryside Stewardship in England.
Verse 2: maintain the existing regulatory framework to deliver high environmental standards and provide certainty for businesses. Cemex is one of many companies that clearly doesn’t want the EU Nature Directives to be unpicked. We want the next UK Government to work hard within Europe to protect the laws that protect nature.
Verse 3: Alistair, backed up by Jack, highlighted the importance about thinking differently about water management solutions. Dealing with many flood problems (eg soil erosion) would also help wildlife so there should be a lot of opportunity for wildlife in good flood management. There is something like £100 billion (from taxes and bills) going into English catchments over the next 15 years (see here) to address issues including the provision of water and waste water services, farming and on flood protection and maintenance. Imagine what could be done if the primary purpose of that spend was to maximise the benefits to the public by nurturing our natural assets?
Finale: there is growing recognition that we need a new approach to restoring nature in a generation, so let’s establish a Nature and Wellbeing Act after the election to provide cross-party consensus for the long-term.
We sang the hymn well, the audience was appreciative and I think the issues we raised were recognised as shared challenges as illustrated by this quote from the Environment Secretary.
“Last month I attended an event in Thetford to celebrate 30 years of conservation efforts by the RSPB and farmers in my South West Norfolk constituency to protect the stone-curlew, which have seen its numbers increase substantially. It was great to meet the RSPB again today to discuss some of the issues facing our birds and wildlife and our shared ambition for the natural environment.
“A thriving natural environment is not only vital to the health of our habitats and wildlife but also our economy and wellbeing. That’s why this Government published the first Natural Environment White Paper for 20 years. And we’ve made significant progress over the past five years, helping create 150,000 acres of priority habitats, planting 11 million trees and cleaning up more than 10,000 miles of rivers.
“There is of course more to do. That’s why in the next Parliament we’ll be spending more than £3 billion on the environment and using our new Countryside Stewardship Scheme to deliver greater, more targeted outcomes for nature. I’m particularly pleased that we’ve been able to include a Wild Pollinator and Farm Wildlife Package specifically aimed at benefiting pollinators and farmland birds.
“I also want to build on the landscape-scale approach to conservation we’ve established in this Parliament, not least through our 12 new Nature Improvement Areas. But above all I want to ensure that all those with a passion for our countryside and wildlife – be they farmers, RSPB members or the broader public – are mobilised in its support. Britain is home to some of the most remarkable birds and wildlife on the planet – let’s work together to make sure they thrive.”
Well done Martin and the RSPB generally. It is so important to ensure and maintain good liaison and communications, like this, with all parties such as farmers, business and politicians for the good of wildlife. It is particularly pleasing at your meeting, that there seemed to be no inclanation to weaken the wildlife laws that protect nature. Quite the contary in fact.
I just hope the "hymn sheet" from which you sung is clearly passed on after the general election as it is unusal for a Secretarty of State to be in a particular office for much more than a year.
I have to say the people who worry me in all of this are the party leaders plus Mr.Osborne with his obvious disinclination towards wildlife.They seem to have great difficulty singing to this type of hymn sheet.
However RSPB efforts like this one with Defra are so valuable.