We must work together for environment

THE LAST few months have been hugely challenging for people and businesses. As the country begins to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic the Environment Agency is maintaining its focus on responding to the climate emergency, working to build a cleaner, greener and more resilient society.

We have had a challenging time environmentally too. In the last 12 months we have experienced three major flood events across Yorkshire. And now we are working with partners including Yorkshire Water on the impacts of prolonged dry weather.

Today the Institute of Public Policy Research publishes its A Plan for Nature in the North of England report which makes a number of recommendations on the importance of strategic partnership.

Last summer myself and a number of representatives from other leading environmental organisations – including Natural England, Woodland Trust, North Pennines AONB, RSPB, The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Durham Wildlife Trust – met at Countryfile Live at Castle Howard to discuss a partnership strategy of how to safeguard nature in the North and aid its recovery.

This group, Nature North, will work collaboratively to develop some priority proposals for nature recovery in the region and work with the National Lottery Heritage Fund on ways to increase investment.

We are also working with the 11 northern Local Enterprise Partnerships and local authorities, who remain committed to their climate emergency pledges.

We are focused on working with partners to rise to the challenge of a sustainable and green economic renewal as we all recover from the impacts of Covid-19 restrictions.

As the IPPR report says, the north of England has some of the most beautiful nature landscapes in the world, and we all have a responsibility to preserve and enhance them for future generations.

But it is not just the National Parks that are special to us. During this period of lockdown, the natural green spaces on our doorstep have provided a lifeline for many people.

I have developed a greater appreciation of the natural environment where I live, such as on walks through the beautiful Nidd Gorge with my three young children, catching glimpses of heron and a kingfisher.

Access to good quality green spaces, which are thriving with wildlife, is a key contributor to our wellbeing and good mental health.

As the regulatory body for protecting the environment, the Environment Agency continues to take steps to improve river water quality; tackle invasive species such as giant hogweed and Himalayan balsam; control waste sites; reduce flood risk; an act to preserve important habitats in times of dry weather, such as now.

Not only is protecting nature essential for the environment, it is also a vital part of the economy, and the health and wellbeing of people.

In our current six-year programme of work with partners, we are investing more than £600m in flood defences across Yorkshire that will better protect homes and businesses from flooding.

In Yorkshire, two of our big river restoration projects include Salmon Back to South Yorkshire and Developing the Natural Aire (DNAire).

These are partnership projects with the Don Catchment Rivers Trust and the Aire Rivers Trust, which will see migratory fish including salmon able to return to spawning grounds above Sheffield and Skipton in the Yorkshire Dales for the first time since the Industrial Revolution.

Life post-lockdown presents a unique opportunity to change the way we live and work for the better – to ensure we take the good from this experience to help us manage, mitigate and reduce climate change.

I believe people are ready to think differently, and we want to play our part in leading the way to protect and restore the natural environment.

We all need to work together to protect it for future generations.

This Friday is the United Nations World Environment Day: take a minute to think about what nature in the North means to you, and what you can do to help protect it, such as being mindful of our finite water resources.

■ The full IPPR North report can be read at http://www.ippr.org/research/ publications/natural-assets-north-finalreport