Blogs

Whether or not to fund the management of species to protect another was the subject of a keen debate in the House of Lords on Thursday 25 January.

On Wednesday 24 January, Teresa Dent CBE was on a panel of experts giving their witness statements about the role of natural capital in the green economy. Teresa joined Minette Batters, President of the NFU, and Judicaelle Hammond, Director of Policy and Advice at the CLA.

Whilst there was much to be positive about in the recent announcement by the Defra Secretary of State on the 2024 SFI offer in terms of its support for farming, we are disappointed that the opportunity was not taken to include measures in the ELMS to reduce predation pressure to facilitate species recovery.

The latest changes to the Sustainable Farming Incentive, launched at the Oxford Farming Conference, are a huge step in the right direction. For many years, the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust has argued for those farmers with good existing habitat to be rewarded for their work. Finally, we have this at a fair rate within government policy.

The GWCT is delighted that the headline of the EFRA report following its soil health inquiry is that government should take soil health as seriously as it does our other critical assets of water and air.

In a recent newsletter, the campaigning group Wild Justice questioned why Defra had sought advice from GWCT in relation to General Licence GL43 - the licensing mechanism for gamebird releasing on or near some protected sites.

It is very difficult to come to terms with the Environment Minister Gillian Martin MSP’s decision to ban all types of snares in Scotland given the resulting prospects for rural management and biodiversity. Soul-destroying even.

The Welsh Government held their biennial Taste Wales event on 25-26 October, designed to promote the food and drink producers in Wales to a wider, even global, audience.

An update on policy from the GWCT Scotland Team.