Responding to today's Written Ministerial Statement on Protected Landscapes, Jordan Lee, CEN's nature programme manager commented:
"This new government amendment is an important step towards achieving our target to protect 30 percent of our land for nature by 2030 and acts on a key recommendation of the Defra-commissioned Glover Review of Protected Landscapes in 2019. The poor condition of protected sites inside national parks and AONBs shows the need for these measures, if we want our most treasured areas of countryside to become hotspots for wildlife, sustainable food production, and tourism. Many thanks to ministers for backing this important policy and congratulations to CEN peer Lord Randall and CEN MP Gary Streeter who led the parliamentary campaigns during the passage of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.
“The extension of the popular Farming in Protected Landscapes programme is a welcome commitment to supporting nature-friendly farming in the uplands on this Back British Farming Day. To recover nature and guarantee our long-term food security, it is vital that ministers continue to roll out Environmental Land Management schemes to incentivise more sustainable farming practices."