We’re not perfect, says Kate Green, but nor are we bottom of the class — and it's time we embraced that.
The red deer is the emblem of the Exmoor National Park, its magnificent antlers adorning houses, shops, pubs and garages, as well as car stickers that say ‘Exmoor works — keep it that way’. Local opinion may vary as to how the deer should be managed, but all are united by the pleasure of observing Britain’s largest wild, terrestrial mammal, grazing freely. Exmoor is home to rare species, has a respectable bird count and is one of few national parks to boast a ‘Nature recovery plan’ to increase woodland (despite the deer) and restore biodiversity and soil health, in part through grazing.
A recent report in The Guardian slated England’s 10 national parks. It cited a lack of diversity on boards — too many farmers, it said, despite farming being, with tourism, the main employment in these places — too little funding, too much focus on car parks and loos and not enough on failing SSSIs, river pollution like anywhere else and, according to the Campaign for National Parks, biodiversity figures that are ‘an embarrassment on the world stage’.
The creation of national parks 75 years ago was all about access and protection from crass building; the 21st-century view, also taken by the 2019 Glover Report, is that Nature conservation should be the priority. It is certainly true that wildlife is no respecter of designation; there are urban settings that teem with unconcerned otters and foxes, waders and raptors, yet forest floors and fields that lie creepily silent.
“‘Near extinction’ is often an exaggeration, reintroductions have consequences and rewilding will actually disadvantage some species.”
The dramatic deployment of the phrase ‘Nature depleted’ is understandable: campaigners rightly want to fire public and political awareness; competition for charitable funding is fierce; and it plays into the hands of anti-landowner factions. What does it mean, however? Some countryside commentators are fighting back against such doom-laden terminology. They point out that ‘near extinction’ is often an exaggeration, that reintroductions have consequences and that rewilding will actually disadvantage some species.
‘Nature’ (natural forces) and ‘biodiversity’ (the variety of life on earth) are not the same thing, observes the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust. It explains that Britain fares badly on some ratings — for instance, the Biodiversity Intactness Index, which measures human influence — because we are a small country with an expanding population. Yale University’s Environmental Performance Index, however, is calculated through ‘habitat intactness’; the UK is rated 43rd out of 152 nations and 23rd out of 180 for overall biodiversity. We’re not perfect, but nor are we bottom of the class. That’s not to be complacent, yet surely, in the current climate, some optimism is welcome.
Kate Green is Country Life’s Deputy Editor. This piece appeared as the leader article in the October 16, 2024 print edition of the magazine.
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