Responsible management of land and the environment.

Abstract

Some of the principal problems facing land users and ecologists are:-

i    a disaffection with the EEC, its biassing effects on what is produced invariably giving rise to various 'mountains',

ii   confusion and misunderstanding amongst and between farmers, ecologists, foresters, conservationists, amenity users, and tourism,

iii   the worry about the potential risks in present practices of fungicide, herbicide and insecticide usage,

iv   the desire to reduce chemical fertiliser usage,

v    the lack of coherent and simple government policy embracing all aspects of land use and its conservation,

vi   not enough constraints on 'bad' management practices and support for the 'good'.

Farmers are becoming increasingly aware that they are under threat to their freedom of action because of the strength of public opinion about the way land is being managed.  Ecologists and conservationists can and should help farmers improve their farms, improve their income and retain the essential diversity and density of the flora and fauna.

This paper discusses the successful management of bracken, the use of    -cides and their effects on vertebrates and invertebrates, the prospects for lower input farming, the various new experimental programmes, the Wildlife and Countryside Act and how it might work, policy on less-favoured areas and the comparison between the MAFF grant aid schemes and EEC resolutions.