Fears over England’s protected landscapes
TWO new forests which will stretch across most of Yorkshire are to be planted as part of a £12.1m government scheme.
The White Rose Forest, which will cover all of West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire, and HEYwoods, which will cover Hull and East Yorkshire, will be planted over the next five months.
These community forests will be planted as part of the government’s Trees for Climate project which will cover 500 hectares (1,235 acres). The scheme aims to offset 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide as part of the government’s pledge to make the UK carbon neutral by 2050.
It is hoped the new forests will reduce flooding and increase biodiversity as well as create new jobs.
Forestry Minister, Lord Goldsmith, said: “Through this exciting new programme we will build back greener, as more communities - particularly those in urban environments - will have access to nature, with real benefits for health and wellbeing.
“Trees are the backbone of our urban and rural environments and essential in tackling the climate emergency. This vital programme will plant trees where they are most needed to stem flooding and provide more places for nature to thrive.”
Forestry Commission chair Sir William Worsley said: “This exciting new programme will benefit local communities all across England - helping to increase access to nature, creating much-needed jobs in the environmental sector and bringing invaluable benefits to people’s health and wellbeing.
“The £12.1m boost will be a huge help both for getting trees in the ground, but also enabling each of the Community Forests to ensure they are wellmanaged in the long term, making sure these new woods can thrive to the fullest extent.”
THE RSPB has criticised the agency advising the Government on the natural environment for failing to get to the bottom of why so many of England’s protected landscapes are in poor condition.
About 6% of land in England has been designated a Site of Special Interest (SSSIs), but 61% of these sites are assessed by ecologists to be in a poor condition – an area about the size of Gloucestershire.
But Natural England has offered no reason as to why this is the case for more than 50% of theses sites, according to the RSPB, as they have been classified as “recovering”.
A reason for the landscape’s decline has only been identified for 8% of cases. The wildlife charity said the biggest identified threat to SSSIs was burning of moorland to clear flora to facilitate grouse shooting. Other major of causes of environmental degradation are overgrazing by livestock and water pollution - particularly from chemicals and fertilisers from agricultural run off.
The RSPB said failure to pinpoint the drivers of ecosystem decline jeopardised Natural England’s goal of returning 75% of SSSI’s to “good” condition by the early 2040s. The RSPB’s head of site policy, Kate Jennings large amounts of public money had been spent setting up ineffective recovery strategies.