Tuesday 25 February 2014

Seeking A Wilder Britain

Do we need a more wildlife-friendly countryside? A steering group has been set up following the publication of George Monbiot's book Feral. From its opening statement:

" Britain's land is all managed. Even in nature reserves nature is controlled and natural processes of succession are not allowed. We have lost most of our large mammals, almost all of our native forest and living marine structures. There are no large areas either on land or at sea in which we let nature be. Our national parks are dominated by sheep; naturally regenerating native trees and shrubs are routinely cut and grubbed out in our nature reserves, our seabed is scoured and ploughed across 99.9% of its area. Conservation, to a greater extent than perhaps anywhere else on earth, aims to protect not self-willed ecosystems, but farming and ranching systems, where only a small and unrepresentative sample of wildlife can persist.

Seeking a wilder Britain involves the large-scale restoration of ecosystems, both on land and at sea, and of their dynamic, selfwilled ecological processes. By campaigning to change policy and by promoting and supporting rewilding projects, the aim is to restore lost natural wonders, encourage more natural regeneration of forests in areas which have been deforested, reestablish native species which we have driven out and provide the people with opportunities to experience natural marvels of the kind they currently have to travel abroad to see."

More here.

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