Conservatives should back urban nature restoration

Conservatives can sometimes treat nature restoration as a rural or suburban pursuit. The rationale behind this is sound: it is far easier to rehabilitate scrubland or a fallow field than it is to create a space for nature in the concrete jungle of a British metropolis. Due to the perceived lack of space or belief that our urban areas are profoundly manmade conservatives tend to focus on planting trees or other small-scale projects. But this is a mistake, and conservatives should be supporting more vigorous nature restoration in our cities.

Elliott Malik, CEN Ambassador

Nature restoration projects are vital, not just for nature but for people. One third of British city dwellers are planning to leave our cities over the next decade. The primary reason for this is a lack of green space. If we continue to ignore urban nature restoration, conservatives will be both ignoring the concerns of vast swathes of voters and enabling flight from our cities. This is unsustainable.

At the same time, two thirds of voters believe that nature is fundamental to our economic growth. This growth is not simply driven by agriculture, forestry, and riparian industries in the countryside. For urban areas, this is driven by increased tourism to beautiful locations and nature-based solutions potentially reducing the intensity of climate hazards by 26%. A nature-rich urban area protects and grows our economy.

There is no binary choice between growing our economy or protecting nature.

There are many existing examples of urban nature restoration projects in the UK, ranging in scope and scale. At one end, we have Allestree Park, the largest urban restoration project in the UK, and the decanalisation of the Brent River Park in London. On the other, we have the already discussed planting of trees along our streets and the nationwide campaign to create ‘hedgehog highways’. All of these are vitally important. We need a mix of larger-scale projects to create hubs for nature and smaller-scale projects to allow slithers of nature to connect all areas of our cities.

But we can also go further and reintroduce keystone species to our cities. I live in Ealing, London. For the past two years, I have been a neighbour to the first urban beaver population in the UK for 400 years. Not only have the original beavers become firmly established in their section of the River Brent, but, earlier this year, they produced kits.

This is a landmark project because it demonstrates the viability of restoring larger species – keystone species – to urban settings. Beavers engineer our rivers: protecting against erosion and lessening the impact of flooding. If this project continues to succeed, it will prove that we can be much bolder with our actions to restore nature.

So, the message is clear: we can act and conservatives should take up the challenge to champion urban nature restoration. Planting trees and other foliage along our streets is a good start, but we can do more. Let us connect and improve existing parks and green spaces, turn small pieces of derelict land into pocket parks, and not fear bringing larger species back into our cities.

Whether it is backing the British beaver in our cities or simply encouraging people to reserve a portion of their gardens for nature, there is an awful lot for conservatives to do. I want to see more nature restoration in our cities. I hope you do too.

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