Sir,
If the government seeks a renaissance in our diverse countryside after Brexit (Comment, Jan 30th) it will need a new approach. Since 1945 successive UK and EU environmental policies have gambled that wildlife declines can be reversed simply through ever greater legislation and regulation. Nature keeps losing. Worse, many of those fundamental to delivering success; farmers, foresters, gamekeepers, developers and other landowners, have become disenfranchised.
To allow conservation to keep up with the demands we place on our busy landscape, the GWCT have conducted scientific research to allow wildlife to thrive alongside evolving land uses since 1932. This cooperative approach has achieved some remarkable results, and we advocate that it should be central to future environment policy.
Andrew Gilruth
Director of Communications
Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust
Help us seize the biggest opportunity for conservation in a generation
As a nation, we must remember that the real enemy of conservation is often uncertainty not change. Change in policy can help our countryside to thrive.
Any donation you can give will get our research into the hands of politicians and the public.
- £25 could help us prepare a factsheet on the burning issues facing the British countryside
- £100 could help us to use this literature to brief a politician, ensuring they are aware of the opportunity for conservation policy
- £250 helps us to raise awareness for practical, evidence-based conservation policy with a wider audience – be it in the press, on television, on the radio or online
This is a once in a generation opportunity to redefine our approach to conservation. We know what must be done to tackle the challenges facing our game and wildlife and with improved conservation measures and a wider understanding of the issues facing us, the countryside can thrive. You can be a part of it.