Policy-makers must place greater value on carbon sinks and water conservation if land managers are to deliver broad-reaching objectives such as preserving biodiversity and combating climate change, according to John Palmer, 4th Earl of Selborne.
Earl Palmer, former president of the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Agricultural Society of England, said: “Land use is one of the key considerations in how we are going to meet such over-arching issues as climate change and population growth in the coming years. It is not just about food - there are a whole range of environmental services that land managers can provide, including flood conservation and enhancement of biodiversity.
“In future, people would have to change their lifestyles to live within the natural resources available to them, taking action to use less water and carbon, and reduce their environmental footprint. With 70 per cent of the land managed in agriculture, farming should be seen as part of the solution, not part of the problem.
“Good farming, good conservation and enhancement of biodiversity have always marched together. All of this is deliverable, but we need to put in place policies that recognise the true value of these benefits.”
Earl Selborne will be chairing a one-day seminar on food security and land use on November 3. Organised by the Royal Bath and West of England Society and the Royal Geographical Society with IBG, the seminar will bring together world-renowned experts in their fields to offer an insight into some of the problems and solutions relating to future sustainable land use in rural areas.
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