The Government has just published its new strategy for England’s National Parks (with mentions for their poor relations, the important AONB’s (Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty)). It seems to dwell heavily upon increasing footfall from home and abroad; increasing business opportunities and the production and selling of top-end food stuffs. All very well to a degree but much of this I would suggest is going further down the road of commercialisation and I personally fear that if all this report is implemented in full, it could ‘kill the goose/geese that lays the golden egg/s.’ In other words, protecting biodiversity seems to be left sitting, largely overlooked on the back seat!
The full report can be read on the following link.
Having been involved in wildlife and landscape conservation for most of my working life (a period of some 40 years), some of the report’s targets concern me about the future of these ‘jewels in the crown’ of the British landscape. This is the same Government which has slashed and continues to slash funding for environmental work in this country, though I hear that National Parks (NP’s) are currently ring-fenced for four years. Much of the government and local authority staff expertise has been shed in these cuts and I would say the matters are now at a fairly low ebb from the zenith of landscape/wildlife protection back in the 1990’s and early 2000’s.
The following are some my comments upon reading through the report; I am only commenting with regard to the situation here in Sussex:
*Good to read the aim of using NP’s as a health resource to improve the well-being of people and hopefully reduce pressure on NHS services.
*A stated aim is for ‘Britain to have the best natural environment anywhere in the world.’ This is quite a tall order in view of the devastation caused over the past half century by modern farming practices and development and the increasing lack of protection offered by this Government.
*Good to read of a proposed initiative to increase the number of young people receiving an introduction to the wonders of the natural environment. However schools will require additional resources. Sadly, there is no mention of this initiative applying to AONB’s?
*The report waxes lyrical about these ‘amazing natural assets.’ Yet the South Downs NP failed upon being set up, to continue the work of protecting one of the real gems of the eastern South Downs, the largest population of mature English elms in the world. Forty years of work and expenditure have been allowed to whither. Mature, rural elms have now almost disappeared leading to their nemesis, Dutch Elm Disease (DED), potentially now on the cusp of devastating the magnificent urban elm populations within Brighton and Eastbourne. As I sit here writing,there are still specie-rich areas of chalk grassland that are being swallowed-up by scrub invasion, with other areas crying out for sustained management to protect them.
*The report wants to see an increase of 10% on the current 90 million home and overseas visitors visiting the NP’s. One of the claims made some 10 years ago to appease opponents during the lead-in to the creation of the SDNP, was that there would not be any significant increase in footfall. At peak times – sunny winter days, bank holidays and during the now longer the holiday season, sees increasing footpath erosion surrounding the hotspots and the road system frequently congested to the point of gridlock during peak times.
*The SDNP upon its creation, failed to take on the maintenance of the extensive footpath network upon the Downs which had previously received substantial additional monies and works during the previous twenty years, only for this to be handed backed to a resource-starved East Sussex CC. If they want more people to explore the area there is a requirement for a well-maintained and well-signposted path network.