Protecting the best... in the uplands

On Friday, I referred to the old conservation motto:  "stop the rot, protect the best and restore the rest".  I bemoaned the lack of progress we had made in protecting the best.   In the uplands, the situation is even more stark.

And this is where my working year starts.  Not literally, as I'll be in of Oxford at the Real Oxford Farming Conference (see here). Today, I will  be debating the future of our uplands - iconic landscapes which offer us so much.  While the dominant economic landuses are farming, forestry and grouse shooting, the uplands also offer us a huge array of other free services: vast stocks of stored carbon (largely in deep peat soils); upland catchments are vital for drinking water supply and flood amelioration; and many of us visit the wild spaces of the uplands for inspiration and enjoyment.  

Yet, wildlife in our uplands is in trouble.  Birds like black grouse, curlew, ring ouzel, whinchat are undergoing major declines and hen harriers continue to suffer from illegal persecution.  And, the State of Nature report showed that of the 877 upland species for which we have information, 65% have declined since 1970.

For me, most shocking of all are the statistics about upland SSSIs:

- 10.5% of the 162,000 ha of blanket bog designated as SSSI are in favourable condition
- 10.3% of the 124,000 ha of upland heath designated as SSSI are in favourable condition
- 39.8% of the 20,000 ha of acid grassland designated as SSSI are in favourable condition

So what's to be done?

First, we have to accept that upland farmers have a continued and important role to play.  Whilst parts of the uplands would undoubtedly benefit from the withdrawal of land management intervention (as George Monbiot recommends), many of the species we value rely on open habitats requiring some level of management.  The future condition and state of these habitats and their species is reliant on securing better, more sustainable (truly sustainable) landuse and land management practices – that underpin both the natural environment and the social fabric of the places (and people) responsible for their management.

Across our upland estate (60% of the RSPB estate is upland) we work work with our tenants and neighbours to secure positive environmental and socio-economic outcomes.  We do this at places like Tarnhouse Farm in Geltsdale or with United Utilities at Haweswater (as shown in Andy Hay's image below) and Dove Stone.  Here we have set out to demonstrate that restoring the upland habitat is good for business and good for wildlife.  

For an overview of our upland thinking – see here.

It's clear that many of the problems in the uplands are made worse by policies such as the Less Favoured Area policy (more recently known as Areas Facing Natural Constraint) which is in effect a ‘hardship’ payment that recognises the difficulty of livestock production in upland areas – poor soils, challenging terrain, difficult climate, distant from markets etc.  It seems to us perverse that we are still subsidising farmers to produce food in these areas when instead we should be positively supporting land managers (farmers) for activities that help secure a broader range of goods and services that the uplands are better placed to deliver.

So let’s stop talking about the Less Favoured Area and Areas Facing Natural Constraint – the Uplands ought to be a Favoured Area because of the range of vital goods and services they produce.

In order to improve the environmental and economic viability of upland farming, we need to change the whole basis by which farmers are supported – having clearer (and agreed) environmental outcomes and positive policy support measures (e.g. agri-environment) and seek to develop additional innovative payment mechanisms that recognise true value of upland ecosystem services (e.g. Payments for Ecosystem Services).  See, for example, here.

This is a shared agenda for many different organisations and individuals and that is why we have helped establish the High Nature Value farming coalition (see here).  Only together can we secure a better future for the uplands, upland wildlife, those that manage the uplands and those that rely on them.

But what about you? What's your view on the future of our uplands?

It would be great to hear your views.