I recently attended the AGM of the Somerset Wildlife Trust.
the meeting was well attended and we managed to meet up with a number of old .
I was motivated to restart my blog and this is the first entry for a long time.
I hope to be able to continue so see you again soon.
How has Costa Rica managed to restore its natural wonders, while big, rich nations fail?
By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 21st April 2023
One of the world’s greatest environmental heroes doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page. Though he has done more to protect the living planet than almost anyone alive, his name is scarcely known. It’s partly because he’s quiet and self-effacing and partly because of a general ignorance about Central America that so few of us have heard of Alvaro Umaña.
This might be about to change. He stars in a fascinating film, now released in the Netherlands and negotiating global sales, called Paved Paradise (disclosure: I was also interviewed). It’s the first feature-length documentary I’ve watched that engages intelligently with the most critical environmental issue: land use. By contrast with popular but misguided films such as Kiss the Ground or The Biggest Little Farm, it recognises that sprawling extractive land uses are a lethal threat to the living world. It makes the case that, unless we count the hectares and decide together how best they should be used, we will lose the struggle to defend the habitable planet.
Paved Paradise tells the story of the most remarkable ecological turnaround on Earth: the transformation of Costa Rica. From 1986 to 1990, Umaña was environment minister in Óscar Arias’s government. Arias received the Nobel peace prize for his regional diplomacy. But the equally astonishing environmental shift Umaña catalysed is less well known.
Until the Arias government took power, Costa Rica suffered one of the world’s worst deforestation rates: on one scientific assessment, its forest cover fell to just 24.4% of the country.
Today, forests occupy 57%, which, Umaña tells me, is close to the maximum: some parts were never forested, while others are now occupied by productive farms and cities. While a small amount of illegal timber felling continues, Costa Rica is the only tropical country to have more or less stopped and then reversed deforestation. It now has one of the world’s highest percentages of protected areas. How did it happen?
Umaña persuaded Arias to let him run a new department (energy and environment) with responsibility for protected areas. He saw that the key task was to change financial incentives. Though cattle ranching was unproductive, as the land could support just one cow per hectare, it was marginally more lucrative than allowing the forest to stand.
His department calculated the opportunity cost of forgoing a cow at $64 a year, so this was the money it offered for protecting or restoring a hectare of forest. He began by reaching out to small farmers and their representatives, in those regions where people were most sympathetic to the idea. The smallest landholders were offered grants, slightly larger ones were offered soft loans, with the promise that if their forest was still standing after five years, it could serve as the loan’s guarantee. The plan was astonishingly successful: 97% of those who received loans protected or restored the trees on their land. As landholders everywhere saw the scheme made financial sense, it became massively oversubscribed.
Needing more money, in 1988 Umaña agreed a debt-for-nature swap with the Dutch government. It would cancel part of the foreign debt if the money Costa Rica would otherwise have spent on servicing it were used instead for forest conservation.
Following a change of government, Umaña became the country’s climate ambassador. He helped introduce a special tax of 3.5% on fossil fuels to help pay for forest conservation.
Soon the tree protectors began to supplement their income. Tourists are now the country’s second-biggest source of revenue: government figures show that 65% of them listecotourism as a principal reason for visiting. They come to see toucans, green macaws, howler monkeys, jaguars, caimans, poison dart frogs and other resurgent natural wonders. Landholders can also apply for a licence selectively to fell a small number of their trees, some of which are very valuable.
One reason for the programme’s success is its sharing of financial benefits, especially through its world-leading gender action plan. Another is cultural change. In building a new identity around “la pura vida” (the simple life), the government showed that, in combination with economic incentives, national pride can help bring long-established practices such as forest clearance for cattle ranching to an end.
Costa Rica helped to inspire the Bonn Challenge, a global programme to restore degraded and deforested land. It launched the international plan to protect 30% of the planet by 2030, and was one of the two founder members, in 2021, of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (though it has since stood back, following a change of government). These are astonishing achievements for a tiny country.
Compare this record with policy in the UK, which, 37 years after Umaña set to work, is still pissing about with half-solutions and non-solutions, held to ransom by rich and powerful property owners and entirely incapable of making strategic environmental decisions, especially on land use. While Costa Rica’s wildlife is booming, ours is in freefall. The government seems determined, against all advice, to allow this disastrous trend to continue for the rest of the decade.
As for the fuel taxes that could have been used, like Costa Rica’s, to fund ecological repair, the UK government has now forgone a cumulative £80bn in revenue by both abandoning Labour’s fuel duty escalator and giving motorists a special rebate. As a result, our carbon emissions are up to 7% higher than they would otherwise have been.
So why does a rich, powerful nation fail, while a small, much poorer one succeeds? Talking to Umaña and researching the history of this transformation suggests a simple answer: quality of government. When governments are committed, decisive and consistent, things happen. When they are beholden to lobby groups, cronyism and corruption, and delegate responsibility to an abstraction called “the market”, they spend decades flapping their hands while chaos reigns.
Our self-hating state, which parades its can’t-do culture as a source of pride, insisting that government cannot and should not solve our problems, is constitutionally destined to founder. Why can’t we follow Costa Rica’s example? Because a small but powerful contingent insists on failure.
www.monbiot.com
We encourage local residents to let us know of wildlife sightings.
We have been told that in the last few days Nightingales have been heard and seen in the area surrounding East Field!
Two reports are for sightings of the Painted Lady butterfly.
Pyramidal Orchids are fairly common in gardens and fields in the village and these are now showing where mowing in lawns is watched closely. Probably flowering in June.
We would like to encourage more gardeners to look out for them before the mower gets too close!
Bumble bees are very busy too. Identification is needed.
We are lucky that our local farmer keeps wide wild margins round his fields which must help wildlife a great deal.
We hope to receive more sightings over the next few weeks.
Friday June 3rd (Bank Holiday for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee)
You will be familiar with the Burton Pynsent monument, situated above the village and looking over the Somerset Levels to the west- but probably not the view from the top as the monument is only opened occasionally, under supervision, as it is potentially dangerous for people to climb it alone. Tim Schroder, of Burton House, has very kindly agreed to open it on June 3rd this year, the weekend of the Queen's Jubilee celebrations, with the request that people taking advantage of this chance of an exciting climb make a donation to the CWCT at the time. The monument will be open from 1 to 6pm on 3rd June and we hope to see you there! Peter's blog for May tells you more about the story of the monument.
Peters Blog link for more information.
See more at: https://mailchi.mp/11beba108d4c/ahead-of-cop26-help-us-to-map-natures-recovery-742322?e=78a7d4ba50
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National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
Declaration of National Nature Reserve
Districts of Somerset West and Taunton, South Somerset, Sedgemoor and Mendip
County of Somerset
Notice is hereby given that:
In pursuance of section 19(1) of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 and section 35(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and all other powers enabling them in that behalf Natural England has, by the Somerset Wetlands National Nature Reserve No.01 Declaration made on the 4th day of May 2022, declared that the Bridgwater Bay, Ham Wall, Huntspill River, Shapwick Heath, Somerset Levels and Westhay Moor National Nature Reserves are extended and collectively are to be known henceforth as the Somerset Wetlands National Nature Reserve.
In accordance with section 19(3) of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 (as amended), and all other powers enabling them in that behalf, Natural England has declared that the land having a total area of 78.15 hectares or thereabouts shown cross-hatched and shaded yellow on the map no.7 attached to the said Declaration, situated in the Districts of Mendip and Sedgemoor in the County of Somerset, (which land was included in the Ham Wall No.01 Declaration made by The Nature Conservancy Council for England on the 19th day of July 1995) has ceased to be held by Natural England and is now held and managed as a nature reserve by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
The extension land having a total area of 2274.16 hectares or thereabouts shown single hatched or cross hatched and shaded yellow on the maps attached to the said Declaration, situated in the Districts of Somerset West and Taunton, South Somerset, Sedgemoor and Mendip in the County of Somerset, has been acquired and is held by Natural England or is held by the Environment Agency, Hawk and Owl Trust, National Trust, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Somerset Wildlife Trust, and Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, bodies approved by Natural England to hold and manage National Nature Reserves.
The said land now having a total area of 6138.92 hectares or thereabouts is being managed as a nature reserve, and Natural England is satisfied that the land is of national importance.
And in accordance with section 19(3) of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 (as amended), and all other powers enabling them in that behalf, Natural England has declared that the land having a total area of 1.24 hectares or thereabouts shown cross-hatched and un-shaded on the map no.7 attached to the said Declaration, situated in the District of Mendip in the County of Somerset, (which land was included in the Shapwick Heath National Nature Reserve No.05 Declaration made by English Nature on the 29th day of September 2006) has ceased to be held and managed by Natural England as a nature reserve.
The declaration and associated maps may be viewed on Natural England’s website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-nature-reserves-formal-notice-of-new-or-extended-sites
Rachel Williams, Area Manager for Wessex,
on behalf of Natural England.
I’m fortunate to be the Director of the Greener Farming and Fisheries Programme in Natural England. There’s a wide remit under the greener farming umbrella but one area that I want to focus on here is Natural England’s role in delivering advice to farmers and landowners for nature’s recovery.
January 2021 saw the start of the seven-year transition away from EU rules and the end of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The Government has set out how Basic Payment Scheme direct payments will be phased out over the period to 2027-28 and delinked from the need to farm in 2024. Evidence shows that agricultural businesses rely heavily on these payments to remain profitable. Instead of these direct payments, incentives will be introduced to encourage more environmentally friendly practices based on public money for public goods.
Farming activity covers 70% of England’s land - all our natural and semi-natural habitat (at least 2m hectares including 39% of Sites of Scientific Interest) is either managed or affected by the way it is farmed. In turn, this directly links to the quality of our landscapes, the health of our ecosystems and the benefits they bring to society.
As part of the biggest change to English agricultural policy in decades, by 2024, Defra will have fully introduced three new environmental land management schemes that will be open for applications:
• the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI)
• Local Nature Recovery (LNR)
• Landscape Recovery (LR).
We will finalise plans for the second phase of tree planting for our new woodland!
Volunteers to help with tree planting welcome.
Agenda for the Trustee 2022 meeting to be held in Curry Rivel
on Friday 14th January at 7.30pm
1. Apologies for absence
2. Approval of minutes of previous meeting held on November30th 2021
3. Matters arising.
4. Collection of trees 17/18 January 9, 2022
5. Planting on 19th January
- attendees
- start time
-equipment
6. Woodland management plan - CM
7. Insurance
8. Update on finance- AC
9. AOB
Web site:cwctrust@aol.com
Somerset County Council is calling on residents to join the county’s fight against climate change by ‘cutting the carbon’ in 2022.
The County Council and the four district councils have all declared a climate emergency and set ambitious goals for Somerset to become a carbon neutral county by 2030.
Now, as a new year begins, Somerset County Council is urging everyone to make their own new year pledge to reduce their carbon footprint for 2022.
Council Leader David Fothergill said: “Many of us kick off the new year with a diet – how about for 2022 we commit to cutting carbon as well as carbs?
“We know that climate change is a big priority for the people of Somerset. We’ve made the pledge to lead from the front – we’ve invested millions of pounds in our council buildings to drastically reduce our own carbon footprint and we’ve also made £1.5m available for community projects in every corner of Somerset.
“There’s more to do and we can all play our part. Whether it’s making our own homes more energy efficient, recycling more, reducing car travel, shopping locally, growing our own food – let’s make the pledge to make a difference in 2022.”
Throughout January, Somerset County Council will be premiering a series of short films showcasing communities already doing amazing things to cut the carbon in Somerset.
Case studies range from the green-minded village of Wedmore to modern thinking from the 850-year-old Wells Cathedral; from community energy in Avalon to growing local veg in Porlock, from retrofitting homes in Bruton to e-scooters in Taunton and the success of the Recycle More programme.
Cllr David Hall, Somerset County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change, said: “Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing us today and it can sometimes feel overwhelming. But small steps really do make a difference and we can all be part of the solution.
“It’s fantastic to see so many communities setting an example right here in Somerset and I’m sure that by showcasing their efforts it will inspire others to step up. If you’re doing something in your home or community, please get in touch – we’d love to share your story too.”
The first film featuring Wedmore will be premiered on Friday 7 January at 8pm at https://www.facebook.com/events/353230972807272/. Further new films will be aired throughout January every Tuesday and Friday at 8pm at www.facebook.com/SomersetCountyCouncil – or you can find them afterwards on the Climate Emergency webpage.
