The UK Government has today published its long-awaited formal response to the Glover Review, an independent review into whether the protections for national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs) are still fit for purpose.
Completed in 2019, the review recommended that national landscapes have a new mission to boost nature and tackle climate breakdown – including by creating wilder areas – alongside improving access to protected landscapes.
With the UK ranked as one of the world’s most nature-depleted nations – and with over half of our species declining and one in seven tumbling towards extinction – the review’s findings offered the Government an opportunity to think big, bold and wild.
In response to the Government’s announcement, Rebecca Wrigley, Chief Executive of Rewilding Britain, said: “The Government needs to wake up to the fact that time is running out to tackle the nature and climate emergencies. Having taken over two years to respond to the Glover Review, ministers are now going to consult for another three months, with any legislation taking even longer. These proposals scream a poverty of ambition, and the Government’s failure so far to adopt the Glover Review’s recommendations for wilder areas in national parks is a massive missed opportunity for nature, climate and people. Now is the time to be stepping up our ambition by modernising legislation to empower national parks to upscale their efforts for nature’s recovery.”
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Posted On: 17/01/2022