Western Morning News (Saturday)
‘We must invest in the great outdoors’
The UK’s wilderness must be protected for future generations, says Kevin Bishop
THE Government is being urged to back its ambitions for a green recovery from the coronavirus crisis – by reversing damaging cuts to national park budgets.
Dr Kevin Bishop, the chief executive of Dartmoor National Park Authority, says that as demand for outdoor space has increased so core funding for national parks has fallen.
Writing in today’s Western Morning News Dr Bishop says that the Covid-19 pandemic has shone a spotlight on people’s need to enjoy the great outdoors.
“This summer we experienced a significant increase in visitors to Dartmoor with an estimated 1 in 5 of all visitors on their first trip,” he writes. But he warns that as “demands have increased, our core funding has decreased.”
And he says cases of abuse towards national park staff have also gone up.
Dr Bishop calls for investment so that protected landscapes like Dartmoor and Exmoor can play their part in helping meet the government’s agenda for greening and providing people with better access to the countryside.
He points to the role protected areas of countryside can play in helping to tackle climate change, improve biodiversity and support the health and well-being of the population.
But he warns that over the past ten years national parks have lost more than 40% of their core funding.
He calls for the appointment of a champion for what he calls “our finest landscapes.”
Ministers have yet to respond to a review of national parks by Julian Glover, published a year ago.
AT times of crisis, we rediscover what really matters to us. The Covid-19 pandemic has shone a spotlight on people’s need to access nature and enjoy the great outdoors.
This summer we experienced a significant increase in visitors to Dartmoor with an estimated one in five of all visitors on their first trip.
We do not think this is a one-off – all those surveyed say they plan to return. As demands have increased, our core funding has decreased. Today we are asking for change. It’s time to invest in these places.
National Parks are at a pivotal moment in time – habitats and species they support are under threat and need protecting and enhancing; communities are changing, with services reducing or disappearing altogether; and businesses are vulnerable. Our farming community, key to managing the landscape and the economy with more than 30% of businesses associated with livestock farming, faces an uncertain future.
In 2018, the Government commissioned an independent review of all ten National Parks and 34 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty ( AONBs) in England, led by Julian Glover. The final Landscapes Review report, published a year ago, sets out a bold vision to make National Parks and AONBs happier, healthier, greener, more beautiful and open to all.
This reflects the Conservative Party Election Manifesto commitment towards making our “most loved landscapes greener, happier, healthier and open to all.” We await the Government’s response to the Landscapes Review, but hope Ministers share the visionary zeal of the ‘founding fathers’ of National Parks and, as part of its commitment to ‘build back better’, invest in a new deal for National Parks. This would see investment in natural solutions tackling the following issues.
Climate change: Restoring peatlands and creating woodland that help capture carbon from the atmosphere and deliver other benefits such as reduced risk of downstream flooding and improved biodiversity. The restoration we have already undertaken has seen numbers of dunlin soar.
Biodiversity: National Parks should be the heart of the proposed nature recovery network; areas from which nature radiates out rather than where wildlife seeks sanctuary. Those corridors can be routes for green super-highways for public access, which all can enjoy.
Health and wellbeing: We are well placed to support people into better mental and physical health. National Parks have more than 94 million visitors who recognise the value of accessing our beautiful landscapes. We need to ensure these opportunities are available to all and are done in ways that support our landscapes and wildlife.
In seeking to tackle the climate, ecological and health emergencies, we need to remember our National Parks are cultural landscapes. Dartmoor is one of the most important Bronze Age landscapes in Western Europe, home to the longest stone row in the world and more than 5,000 prehistoric hut circles.
UK National Parks are living, working landscapes and we work with communities to enhance them and help people who can – and cannot – visit, so they understand them more and care for them.
Farmers and land managers play a critical role in sustaining and enhancing National Parks. We have an opportunity to develop a new model of ‘regenerative agriculture’ that combines food production and environmental management. We must find a way to harness local knowledge and expertise and empower the farming community to deliver public goods for which they will receive public payment.
On Dartmoor, the Defra-funded ‘test and trial’ initiative is seeking to do just that. We would like to go further, to develop ‘Demonstration Farms’ that provide practical examples of what the new farming system might look like.
The new funding deal should include tools to support visitor management. We are delighted to see more people spending time in nature but it should not be at the expense of damaging landscape.
Sadly, we have seen an increase in anti-social behaviour and abuse towards staff. We’re asking Government to give us the tools to deal with this behaviour more effectively, so everyone feels safe.
Glover proposed a ‘National Landscape Service’ but any new organisation that sets direction from the centre is not what is needed: We need an effective champion for our finest landscapes at the heart of Government. Over the last ten years, we have lost over 40% of our core funding. Despite covering 10% of England, grants represent just 89p per citizen.
Our ambition is to keep working with partners to sustain and enhance Dartmoor for future generations but we cannot deliver the Landscape Review’s ambitions and Manifesto commitments without investment. National Parks were born in the aftermath of World War II, when money was tight, and were a key part of an agenda to build a ‘land fit for heroes’ – the same programme formally established our NHS. It’s time for Government to signal a similar commitment to green recovery through sustained investment in National Parks.
Monday: Regular columnist Judi Spiers on University Challenge... and the Appledore Book Festival