Page 8 - Wildlife News April 2018
P. 8
People & nature
Wealth in wildlife
(ANDREW MARSHALL/GO WILD LANDSCAPES)
Nature supports a healthy society and is central to a successful economy.
By calculating the value of its many benefits we can build the case for its restoration,
says Director of External Affairs Tom Beckett
N ature gives us everything we need to both survive and The case for nature
thrive. Underpinning the health and wellbeing of individuals
and society as a whole is a wildlife-rich environment. Like other Wildlife Trusts, BBOWT is building the case that
Countryside managed for wildlife as well as agriculture provides restoring nature will ultimately save society money. Of course,
not only nutritious food and drink but inspiring places to walk, any case needs evidence and an initial review of the ecosystem
exercise and unwind, plus many benefits that contribute to a services provided by our nature reserves revealed the multiple
vibrant economy. benefits they offer – from recreation opportunities to carbon
storage (see page 8, April 2017 issue).
As Wildlife Trust members we appreciate the intrinsic beauty
of wildlife. Yet nature offers benefits for all of us, including those The next step was to calculate the financial value of these
who aren’t as interested in wildlife as we are. Clean air and water, benefits. By doing this we can demonstrate why funding,
flood alleviation, a buffer against climate change – the public including farming subsidies, is better focused on protecting
benefits derived from nature’s ‘ecosystem services’ prove that nature and habitat creation.
a healthy environment isn’t just a ‘nice to have’, it’s central to a
functioning society and our financial wellbeing. Chimney Meadows, our largest nature reserve in Oxfordshire,
has been the perfect case study. Since buying the farm in 2003
New footpaths increase recreation we have worked to return intensively cultivated farmland back
opportunities, in turn improving to wildlife-rich meadows and hedgerows. This gives us the
health and wellbeing. opportunity to compare how the land will function once this
(ELAINE TUFFERY) restoration is complete with how it would have performed without
our intervention.
Our assessment of the ecosystem services provided by
Chimney Meadows projects the values of all of the benefits derived
from the land in the 30-year period from 2023 (two decades after
acquiring the reserve when all the land will be fully restored). The
results are conclusive: Chimney would have four times as much
value to the public when it is managed as a nature reserve.
Public riches
The assessment supports many of the changes already made
at Chimney, from converting arable crop land to wildflower
meadows; digging ponds and planting hedgerows; to improving
8 Wildlife news / April 2018
