We asked – What do YOU want from the Glover review?
20 September 2019
Campaign for National Parks asked a number of National Park people what they’re hoping from the publication of the Glover review of designated landscapes.
Margaret Paren, Chair of National Parks England reflected on the importance of the Parks:
“Through political uncertainty over the decades, our National Parks have been a constant. Their values to inspire, to connect people to nature, and blend the needs of people and the environment in cultural landscapes remain undiminished. As we look to the future we hope the Glover Report will provide vision, practical proposals, and the means and resources to deliver thriving National Parks, enjoyed by all.”
Margaret Paren
Howard Davies, Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty said:
“Landscape’ as a tool for integrating policy in a place and acting as the focus for a democratic process of decision-making has so much to offer. Addressing root causes through effective collaboration – something at which AONB partnerships and National Park Authorities excel, is of utmost importance. If we are to restore nature, reduce the impact of climate change, and ensure that designated landscapes continue to deliver effectively for the nation then these special places need the tools and resources to do so. I have high hopes that this review recognises this and helps secure a future for these precious places.”
Andrew McCloy, Chair of the Peak District National Park Authority, focussed on the threat of climate change:
“We are looking to the Glover Review to help national parks take a lead role in tackling climate change, so that we can use our influence and expertise to develop more sustainable approaches to land management and visitor travel and transport. National parks have the potential to effect behavioural change and pioneer a new and more responsible relationship with our environment, but only if we are given the right tools and resources.”
Andrew McCloy
Rachel Thomas, Chairman of the Exmoor Society commented:
“The inspirational places we love today are the result of the interaction of landscape and nature with people and their livelihoods shaped through the centuries. We hope the Glover Report will recommend a new Agri-Environmental Scheme better tailored to individual parks. Exmoor has produced The Exmoor Ambition, based on natural capital and is a leading example of how to increase the Nation’s natural and cultural assets.”
Andrew Hall of Campaign for National Parks was hopeful:
“I hope this is really a historic moment for the National Parks, a moment that reignites the visionary movement for these incredible spaces. I hope the review offers realistic but ambitious solutions to the devastating loss of wildlife in our National Parks and does so in a way that respects what makes these places so special.”
Campaign for National Parks’ Andrew Hall
Kate Jennings, Head of Site Conservation Policy for the RSPB wants the glover review to turn around the decline of wildlife in the National Parks:
“England’s National Parks and AONBs could and should be at the forefront of our attempts to tackle the nature and climate emergencies, and the RSPB is proud to be one of a number of organisations working on projects which to do just that – bringing back wildlife and locking up carbon by restoring natural habitats. However, across our protected landscapes the overall picture has been one of ongoing wildlife loss and habitat degradation. The recommendations of the Glover Review must focus on turning this around. That means tackling head on the key drivers of decline, chief amongst them the unsustainable management of our uplands, and demanding changes to the funding, governance, and management of our protected landscapes to put nature, climate and people at their heart.”