News

MOORLAND ASSOCIATION POLICY ADVICE TO WESTMINSTER

Monday 22nd February, 2010

The Lord Taylor of Holbeach CBE, (Shadow Minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), Edward Bromet, Chairman of the Moorland Association and Huw Irranca Davies, (Minister for Marine and Natural Environment) at the launch of the Moorland Association's Guide to Policy Formation for the Uplands.

Restoring heather moorland in parts of the most remote English and Welsh uplands is key to their sustainable future, says The Moorland Association. The announcement comes as part The Moorland Association’s Guide to Policy Formation presented at Westminster today (February 22nd).

Heather moorland used to cover a third of the uplands of England and Wales but this has dwindled to just one fifth over the past 70 years despite it being rarer than rainforest. Britain is now responsible for 75% of what remains in the world.

Said Edward Bromet, Chairman of the Moorland Association: “Over 700 square miles of heather moorland have been lost or degraded. Yet, where it is has been managed for wild red grouse shooting by our members, it and its associated remote rural communities thrive. With careful heather burning, predator control and bracken management the rare habitat can support abundant bird life and nutritious grazing for stock, as well as help mitigate for climate change. These key attributes are not always apparent elsewhere in the uplands. We want to see the heather back to help the uplands prosper and we hope the new Government will put policy in place to support and encourage others to follow our management model.”

The policy guidance document, supported by six other organisations with expertise in the uplands, points out where previous policy has been damaging and where things are going wrong now. It makes 21 recommendations to the next Government to safeguard and extend integrated grouse moor management. These include:

• Heather to be regenerated on 703 sq miles of the uplands where it has been lost.
• Local farmers, tenants, sporting interests and the landowner should all work together to an agreed plan with minimal burden and cost of government agency involvement.
• Gamekeepers should be employed to undertake predator control to boost important breeding bird populations and manage the heather when it returns.

Welcoming the advice, Jim Paice MP, Shadow Minister for Agriculture said: “The moorland management for red grouse has safeguarded some of our most treasured landscapes and its economic drivers help balance farming, wildlife and use as upland water catchments to the benefit of us all. Its success should be harnessed in areas where heather has been lost and form an important part of the future of the uplands as a whole. Removing layers of costly and unnecessary state bureaucracy which threatens to strangle current good practice must also be a priority.”

Click here to download the Moorland Association's full policy guidance document launched at Westminster, February 2010.