January 6, 2022

expert reaction to new government schemes for land-use change and habitat restoration

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has revealed new plans to restore 300,000 hectares of habitat across England.   

Prof Nick Talbot FRS, Executive Director of The Sainsbury Laboratory, said:

“We welcome the announcement to restore natural habitats and to ensure that the majority of agricultural soil is under sustainable management by 2030. However, these changes only make sense if farmers can access innovative technologies to ensure sustainable intensification of agriculture. We need to grow more food on less land without chemical inputs. 

Modern genetic technologies to improve crop varieties will be a vital component if we want to grow food productively while also delivering significant environmental benefits. Agricultural innovation and reduced regulation could be a tangible benefit of leaving the EU, and an area in which we could lead the world.”

Prof Jonathan Jones FRS, The Sainsbury Laboratory, said:

“A scheme that creates new incentives for farmers to enhance and improve their stewardship of agricultural land is to be welcomed, but the devil is in the details. Releasing land for wildlife must be accompanied by ensuring high yields in the land retained for agriculture. This requires regulatory approval and deployment of modern innovative methods to replace chemical pest and disease control with methods that incorporate resistance into the genetic constitution of the crop.”

Dr Alexander Lees, Senior Lecturer in Conservation Biology at Manchester Metropolitan University said:

“Escaping from the clutches of the Common Agricultural Policy​ – which has driven biodiversity loss across Europe by incentivising habitat destruction – represents a major opportunity to improve the state of UK nature. Clarification of the nature of the much anticipated ELM Schemes marks the beginning of the end for a major period of uncertainty for land-owners; the division of the scheme into three components fits well with the challenges of reversing declines in Britain’s Red Listed species – some of which will respond better to wildlife friendly farming and others that need truly wild spaces. However, the aspirations of the pilot seem simultaneously low and over-ambitious – it would seem very hard to reverse biodiversity loss for the ‘most threatened species’ in just 10,000 hectares – an extent of habitat smaller than the Abernethy National Nature Reserve for instance. If we are serious then we need to be racing towards the 300,000 hectare target as fast as possible.”

Prof Dave Goulson, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, said:

“This announcement from government looks promising. We urgently need to integrate sustainable food production with tackling the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. These measures could be a big step in the right direction, but the devil is in the detail of exactly what is funded, and how much has to be delivered to qualify for the payments.

“The goal of ‘Up to 300,000 hectares’ of habitat to be created is a slippery figure, since it has no lower limit.

“The target that 60% of agricultural soils be sustainably managed by 2030 is disappointing. 100% of our farmed soils should be sustainably managed; anything less is to be irresponsibly damaging a vital resource.”

Dr Ben Woodcock, Ecological Entomologist, UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), said:

“These represent important post-Brexit commitments by the UK Government and Defra to support the long term viability of biodiversity within agricultural systems, bringing a necessary focus on restoration of degraded or destroyed habitats existing within complex and interconnected landscapes.  This acknowledges the need to support species that utilise habitats and resources across a range of spatial scales, many of which play a key role in agricultural productivity, including bees supporting pollinating and predatory insects delivering natural pest control.”

Declared interests

None received.