Launched today

This report, launched at 11am today at an event hosted by the Green Party, is different. It is written by a small group of wildlife enthusiasts, none of whom has worked at a high level in nature conservation but all of whom are respected authorities on the natural world.

The authors are Patrick Barkham (Guardian journalist and author), Mark Cocker (nature writer), Jake Fiennes (manager of the Holkham Estate and recently member of the Glover review group on National Parks), Jeremy Mynott (former publishing supremo at CUP, a leading light in establishing New Networks for Nature and a nature writer himself) and Helen Smith (scientist and conservationist best known for work on the Fen Raft Spider).

Nature conservation must feel like a LibDem candidate in this general election; squeezed between two bigger players, either Conservative and Labour or climate change and animal welfare. This document would have been the most substantial contribution to the debate, and it still is a substantial contribution, had not the Labour party got its act together (for once) last week.

You will have noticed that the wildlife conservation organisations have not singly or together published a manifesto for nature – that is a gaping hole at this time.

So how does this independent report measure up? Pretty well, I’d say, and not just because I know all the authors. There are some weak areas but overall it’s stimulating and well worth reading.

Let me point out some radical suggestions for a start, and they are particularly notable because Jake Fiennes is a member of this group. The plan proposes to …

Ban intensive moorland management in designated areas. At least 1.3 million hectares of upland Britain are influenced by management for grouse shooting and a significant proportion falls within designated areas. Management of these areas has to be compatible with the wildlife and environmental purposes of the national parks.

Page 9

…and also to …

Outlaw medicated grit. Medicated grit is used to treat wild red grouse to main artificially high numbers. Banning it will reduce the number of red grouse on moorland and make grouse-shooting a more realistic “wild” experience for those who wish to participate, as well as making the industry more sustainable.

Page 19

Those proposals certainly won’t go down too well with the Moorland Association and the first of them takes things on much, much further than the limp Glover report. And then there is…

Ban the release of non-native game birds into the countryside. Britain currently allows an unlimited number of non-native pheasants and partridges to be released into the countryside each year. Numbers have risen from around four million annually in the early 1970s to more than 60 million each year today. This is unsustainable and is damaging native wildlife.

Page 18

…which may be a step too far for BASC and GWCT, and goes further than almost anyone I know!

Here’s another interesting quote;

We have a duty of care to so-called “pest” species as well. Killing pregnant foxes should not be lawful. Close seasons will protect the welfare of wild animals such as foxes, wild boar, beavers, stoats and weasels.

Page 19

That would take out a third of the year for fox control – from now until mid-April in practice.

The proposal to establish…

10,000 annual work-placements for teenagers with national wildlife charities and on government’s national nature reserves, in order to widen access to nature and wildlife jobs for urban young people of all ethnicities and social backgrounds.

Page 13

…recalls the Civilian Conservation Corps of the USA in the Great Depression and the authors, unsurprisingly, promote…

Mary Colwell’s campaign to launch a GCSE in Natural History is an important initiative. We must work to ensure this GCSE is properly funded and supported with teacher training to enable maximum uptake across the state secondary school system.

Page 13

There is something in all of the sections to make you think:

• Preamble: statement of principles (actually a bit short on principles)
• Public voices for nature (largely about the statutory nature conservation organisations)
• National Parks and other protected landscapes
• Farming: how to produce food and revive wildlife
• Schools and young people
• Urban wildlife
• Marine environments
• Hunting and shooting
• Biosecurity for our wildlife
• Concluding summary

The weakest sections are those that deal with big and complex policy areas such as agriculture and protected areas (other than National Parks). The planning system is not given much prominence, and the fact of devolution is rather glossed over. But nature is given a strong voice in this document, commissioned by the Green Party (of England and Wales).

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