England's lowlands deteriorating
A report produced by
English Nature entitled
State Of Nature: Lowlands - Future Landscapes For Wildlife has called for improvements in the
environmental standards of farming, better water management, and measures to reduce the impact of alien species.
Key recommendations include:
* Investment in environmental management + wildlife recovery on farms
* Stimulation of appropriate management of farmland + woodland
* Improved water management
* the restoration of wetland habitat
* Reducing the threats and impacts of non-native invasive species
* Reducing the cumulative impacts of development
* Reducing the adverse impacts of transport
* Reducing atmospheric pollution
* Adapting to the impacts of climate change
* Improving the management of the impacts of access + recreation
Despite some conservation successes, the
state of wildlife in England's lowlands is still worsening and that the only way of reversing the decline will be to
manage the lowlands as whole landscapes, not separate bits.
Improved protection of the landscape will, however, benefit
wildlife, the
economy as well as people's
health and their sense of
wellbeing...
Dr Keith Duff, English Nature’s Chief Scientist said: "We don’t have some romantic notion about recreating the past, but believe we must move forward to sustainable land management in a modern context. We call on everyone to work with us to develop an integrated and landscape-scale approach across the whole of England to deliver benefits for all."