The suggestion that the solution to the “Nature Crisis” is through further SSSI designation is a flawed concept. Many of the existing SSSI sites are already not meeting their conservation objectives – simply adding more will not help. A better approach is through incentivizing farmers to help nature through the Environmental Land Management Scheme. At our farm in Leicestershire, we have seen nature recovery through this approach – songbird numbers doubled and moth species and numbers increasing – as two examples. Let’s try more carrots and less sticks.
Joe Stanley Head of Sustainable Farming at The Allerton Project
Letter in response to: England’s wildlife watchdog failing to protect crucial sites, say campaigners (The Guardian)