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Memoranda submitted by the Wildlife Trusts (ACC14)
Environmental Audit Committee inquiry: Adapting to climate change
A response from the Wildlife Trusts
5th October 2009
Key points 1. Introduction
1.1 The Wildlife Trusts welcome the opportunity to respond to the Environmental Audit Committee Adapting to climate change inquiry.
1.2 There are 47 local Wildlife Trusts across
the whole of the
1.3 The Wildlife Trusts are heavily engaged in policy and delivery on climate change adaptation at national, regional and local levels. We work closely with local authorities, regional bodies and devolved administrations on a range of aspects of climate change adaptation, from strategy and planning to land management and community development. We have been instrumental in highlighting the importance of climate change adaptation for wildlife and people to decision makers, and in particular:
a) Local and regional - climate change action plans b) Local, regional and national - biodiversity adaptation including Local Wildlife Site systems and Biodiversity Action Planning c) Regional - habitat opportunity mapping to inform planning decisions, and involvement in development control d) National - policy development including membership of the DEFRA Natural Environment: Adapting to climate change group and the National Ecosystem Assessment User Group
1.4 The Wildlife Trusts have produced a
strategy document entitled 'A Living Landscape' which calls for the restoration
of the
1.5 We would be pleased to provide further information in relation to points raised in this response.
2. Adaptation principles
2.1 Strategies to deliver climate change adaptation have been outlined by DEFRA (DEFRA 2007, 2008). Four key principles to form the centre of an environmental adaptation strategy stand out in these documents, namely:
a) Conserve existing biodiversity - conserve current high quality wildlife habitats and ensure we maintain the range and ecological variability of habitats and species. b) Reduce sources of harm not linked to climate change - in other words do not further reduce the resilience of our natural environment. c) Develop ecologically resilient and varied landscapes, keeping variety and quality in the local landscape so species and habitats can relocate and re-form within their existing location and so that ecological processes can continue to function at a large scale. d) Establish ecological networks so species and habitats can move, interact and re-form over longer distances.
2.2 Environmental adaptation principles are needed to develop these broad themes into practical strategies at national, regional and local levels. These must be underpinned by effective legislative frameworks.
3. Policy alignment
3.1 There is an extensive array of policies, mechanisms and legislation which currently determines how land is used and managed. These include agriculture, planning, woodland and forestry and wildlife protection mechanisms. However, there are very few current legislative provisions for proactive delivery of ecosystem function and security. Nor are those mechanisms that do exist aligned geographically or strategically. Even with the adaptation provisions of the Climate Change Act, without a strong new driver for the natural environment, this situation is unlikely to change.
3.2 Thus, whilst site and species protection policies are good, there is little to encourage habitat expansion, creation, interconnectivity or the overall functioning of natural processes in the wider environment in the face of climate change or otherwise.
3.3 The Wildlife Trusts consider that a more integrated approach to land use planning and management for the long term is needed. Consequently, The Wildlife Trusts proposed a number of high level policy changes at a Parliamentary event in November 2008. Climate change adaptation is a key driver to these policy changes.
3.4 In thinking more broadly about an integrated approach we consider that there is a need for a new statutory spatial and strategic framework to drive decisions about land use and land management to achieve ecosystem recovery. We also believe that there is a need to increase the speed and scale of ecosystem restoration and habitat creation by introducing mechanisms for positive planning, encompassing all aspects of land use and land management.
3.5 The recent Government announcement (28th September) that said it would establish a Commission to review England's wildlife and ecological network, including its links with our National Parks and its ability to adapt to climate change and other pressures, is hugely welcome. The Wildlife Trusts will play our part in contributing to the work of the Commission once it is established.
4. Creating A Living Landscape
4.1 On a practical level, and linked to the adaptation principles above, we believe that there is need to create A Living Landscape which allows wildlife and people to adapt to climate change, by:
· Protecting and enlarging 'core' areas. The most important wildlife-rich areas may already have some protection, but this may need to be strengthened and expanded. Looking after the best of what we have is the first priority; any future environment can only evolve from that which survives from today.
· Linking and joining up the 'core' areas. Improving connectivity between areas of high ecological quality includes building physical connections, stepping stones and corridors as part of ecological networks based on natural features such as rivers, belts or blocks of semi-natural vegetation or non natural features such as green lanes.
· Improving the 'permeability' or 'greening' of the rest of the landscape. This involves improving environmentally sensitive management in the wider landscape such as in intensively farmed agricultural land, in river catchments and in urban areas.
4.2 This approach reflects the key requirements of an environmental climate change adaptation strategy as set out by DEFRA.
4.3 Climate change will bring about more extreme weather events such as hot, dry summers, storms and floods. A 2°C rise in temperature will shift the natural range of some species over 150 miles to the north or nearly 1,000ft up hillsides. Now more than ever it is vital that we manage and use our land, so it is hospitable to plants and animals enabling them to move and adapt to new conditions for survival. Critically, we need to restore healthy, Living Landscapes that can help to alleviate floods, control pollution and help us cope with extremes of temperature.
4.4 Across the
4.5 These Living Landscape schemes are focusing resources on the creation and restoration of habitats of all kinds, for a wide range of species and with the assistance and support of local communities.
4.6 An example of these initiatives include the Devon Wildlife Trust 'Working Wetlands' scheme, which over five years will aim to work with over 750 landowners in priority areas. Wildlife rich habitats will be restored and in strategic areas recreated, enabling the reconnection of the natural landscape. More robust ecosystems will be the product, better able to withstand the rigours of climate change. Further information can be provided about this project or any other Living Landscape scheme.
DEFRA (2007) Conserving biodiversity in a changing climate: guidance on building capacity to adapt.
DEFRA
(2008)
TEEB (2008) The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, an interim report.
October 2009 |