Thread by @heritage_lizzie

Representing the @Heritage_NGOs today at the #WildSummit in Bristol. Arrived in time for the second session of the day. From Source to Sea. I’ll be tweeting some key points from the day here. 🧵

A key bit from the first session

https://twitter.com/mattrcbrowne/status/1966066301631344954

We are hearing from @HughFW introducing the session on water. Only 14% of our rivers are in a decent state & none pass all the tests. Our political system supports short term thinking & growth at all costs. We’ve had lots of inquiries. Need substantive change to the system.

@HughFW We are listening to a panel now discussing the issues. The @WomensInstitute have been campaigning on this since 1927. The @OfficeforEP says they have had a big focus on water from the outset. Lots of legislation out of date. The legislators need the capacity to do this properly.

We’ve been promised a water report Bill next year - what should go in it? Law on farming & water pollution hasn’t been enforced yet. Half our grain crop feeds the animals that feed us. Government needs to lead on this says James Wallace of @RiverActionUK

Focus needed on the broken regulatory model. DEFRA’s job is to protect the environment. How does environmental agenda & growth agenda work together? Some mixed views on this from the panel.

The next panel kicked off by Baroness Kathy Willis on investing in nature. A really interesting point being made in the context of land needed to deliver govt homes etc… & how to get to 30by30 the assumption is that all homes needed will be new build on land.

We know 670k homes could be delivered by existing buildings - so heritage reuse can be part of the 30by30 solution…. But it’s not been mentioned yet in today’s discussions. historicengland.org.uk/advice/plannin…

Talk about natural capital & how nature related financial risk need to keep rising up the agenda. Who are the big players who are destroying nature on their patches? There is also a disconnect between natural capital, biodiversity & flooding management in plans…

Some key questions. Are the criteria for 30by30 right?

We are now hearing from the panel. Talking about hooks for treasury to take notice. Drought will cost & stop infrastructure delivery for instance. Demand side - so many companies rely on the resilience of nature. Ecological change at scale has to come from collaborative action.

Need more joined up & clearer signals from government. Our pension money is being invested in land management - we should all have a voice in how practices play out on this land. We need more price certainty coming from this. Investors then become part of the solution.

How can we get decision-makers to see restoration of nature IS a nationally important infrastructure project? How can risk be alleviated. Front loaded revenue certainty & resource investment while trees are growing etc… be as certain as we can about economic returns as eco wins.

Need to get nature onto the risk registers of major companies. Not an add on. Mandatory published impacts & transition plans would help surface issues. Who are the partners we can work with to ensure nature restoration etc… is a positive part of their agenda too.

The importance of individual case studies & impact including for private companies - show pain & benefits of engagement better than generalities for decision-makers

In sum @ShaunSpiers1 has a plea for a cross-departmental coordinated agenda on nature recovery

This afternoon @nationaltrust Hilary McGrady kicks off a panel on planning for people & nature. We hear about a decade of national renewal - where is the natural renewal in here? We need a focus on delivery, practical solutions & stepping outside of our own rhetoric.

Needs a shared vision and a coordinated strategic approach, we need to speak with one voice as a sector. We need to agree our core aims & have a vision.

The panel responds. @guyshrubsole says that vision is key & the current government doesn’t yet have that in this space. The planning system have been talked down whereas it is developers land banking that is key. It’s good there will be a land use framework.

Post war Labour govt, Guy notes, had a vision including for access. Current proposals are not ambitious enough.

Good to hear from Rosie Pearson of @CommunityPlann1 talking about brownfield & reuse first. The need to look at how land is used to provide homes. Local people are seen as blockers when they are forced to object to bad decisions being made for them she says.

Kate Ashbrook talks about young people & the need to support them as part of a movement for access and nature.

Forthcoming access green paper from Government. Hilary talks about quality of access not just access itself. Would like to see a delivery plan for the 15 min target. Can design this in and developers need to sign up to it.

Discussion of planning & infrastructure bill - where is it now with nature? Rosie notes that nature is last in the bill, the amendments are a good thing but you need to avoid harm rather than paying to fix that harm.

Ed from the Community Homes Hub. Says developers & house builders don’t want to trash nature. Biodiversity net gain is good. Hilary applauds the current amendments & work behind them. Land use framework has a role to play. We need to move forward strategically & in joined up way.

Critical that @NaturalEngland is properly funded to do the job properly.

Nature lobby should point to the real blockers eg land banking etc… nature is not the blocker says Guy.

8.5% Britain is urban. 8% Grouse Moors…

Where is the hope this parliament? Hilary says we must be determinedly optimistic. Politicians listen to public voices. Need to bridge from interest to action.
What is the tool that can be proven to make a difference? Supporting orgs like @WCL_News to bring people together.

Now in a panel on Farming for the Future. Chat about public goods, good and stringent regulation, supporting farmers to think about resilience through crops chosen, training and advice is essential. But buyers squeezing behind the farm gate. 50% of our diet is ultra processed.

NFU talking about the lack of confidence that comes with the changes to agricultural property relief. Whilst it might encourage more succession planning in the future it has caused lots of stress & changed the goalposts.

SFI is a huge opportunity to change from blanket subsidies to making public goods choices in a more sophisticated way.

At present we offshore much of the environmental harms associated with our food chain but also we import most of our organic food. Need an organic strategy.

Final panel of the day. International perspectives. Ruth Davis talking about the huge scale of transforming agricultural practices in some parts of the world. Big financial element & needs collaborative & global approaches to solutions. We are part of global supply chains.

Matthew Gould notes that it’s important you come as a nation to this with authenticity. When as a nation we aren’t doing well for nature, and financial systems don’t support this, that plays out badly in leadership conversations on the global level.

Critical we put a price on nature. If we don’t you can’t get the markets to invest. Giving nature the value we know it has rather than treating it as a free good.

Importance of international leadership in this space - UK engagement in dialogue is making a difference. We can support the hard working civil servants working across nations on dialogue. Power of individual leaders engaging.

Martin Harper notes that today had been great but dialogue has felt gentle. We cannot be complacent. We should be confident about using our own power and agency to ensure the agenda survives & nature sector is better organised.

The US is departing and there is a leadership gap. How do we ensure we can contribute and that our actions & rhetoric match.

Ruth says leadership is different now - need to be real about the challenges we face. People want to partner around private sector models, tech, science. Need to offer ourselves to the world in a different way. Partnering rather than traditional leadership. Not we know better…

Science is easier. We go in not knowing all the answers - getting to an answer. Different kind of respect & collaboration. Politics is trickier. Due humility, spirit of leadership but still opportunity for leadership esp shaping financial markets.

Need to build solid dialogue and conversations with those who don’t agree with us says Ruth. Otherwise we are just preaching to the choir.

Environmental sector is one of the most undiverse - so an inclusion agenda is a critical part of this. Also inter and cross disciplinary work.

What will future generations think of what we are trying to achieve? That should inform our leadership.

The day is finishing up with Richard Benwell of @WCL_News summing up. Encouraging everyone to go away and think big thoughts about the ideas raised today, then making them happen. Challenge - merging the fire of the grassroots campaigns with some of the deep policy thinking…

@WCL_News Need to merge the two - you aren’t either just a policy geek or campaigner - need to come together to create a movement. Rich sector in terms of powerful ideas. Not blockers - nature is the future.

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