What do you think of when you think of a national park? Is it a wide area of glorious natural beauty, where wildlife runs free under the protection of the state? Or is it a wide area mostly farmed by private landowners, in which nature is faring worse than outside its boundaries, and largely off-limits to the public?
In England, the reality is the latter, and this matters. The country is one of the most nature-depleted nations in the world, in the bottom 10% of nations for biodiversity. “Nature is in freefall in our national parks,” says Dr Rose O’Neill, the chief executive of the Campaign for National Parks (CNP).
Wildlife is wonderful for its own sake, but its loss also damages its near-magical ability to boost people’s wellbeing, as well as natural flood defences, pollination and more. Restoring nature is also critical to fighting the climate emergency, soaking up carbon in new trees and rewetted peatlands.
There is a post-Brexit revolution in farm subsidies under way, with billions of pounds a year being shifted from payments for simply owning or renting farmland towards “public funding for public goods”, largely nature restoration and climate protection.
I can only imagine how much it hurt a guardian journo to write something positive about brexit.
