News

GOVERNMENT ACTION NEEDED TO SAVE BRITAIN'S HEATHER HERITAGE

27th January, 2003

The full N.U.M.R.P report is available in pdf format. Please click the
icon above to view. If you would prefer to download the file to your
computer to view or print off-line then right click the icon with your
mouse and if using Internet Explorer select "save target as" (If using
Netscape select "save link as").


Please note the file is approx 2.5Mb and will take roughly 8 minutes to
download on a standard 56k modem.

The Moorland Association stated today (27th January) that there are still over 1.0 million acres (over half) of uplands in England and Wales in a degraded state. In addition, those areas with heather moorland in good condition now – one of the scarcest habitats on a world scale – could come under threat without continued investment and care. In a new report out today, the Association demonstrates a proven formula for improving heather habitat and makes eight key recommendations for sustainable upland regeneration.

The Northern Uplands Moorland Regeneration Project Report states that over 370,665 acres of heather moorland have been saved and improved by the actions of private moorland landowners and tenant farmers in Northern England through a three-year Objective 5b programme.

During the project, moorland management plans for 45 estates, incorporating 65 farms, were drawn up and implemented by a dedicated project team to ‘help farmers and landowners integrate agriculture, sporting and environmental objectives, to increase farm incomes, improve job opportunities in rural areas and enhance the upland moorland environment.’ Tangible spin-offs include improved landscape value, rural tourism opportunities and increases in the populations of rare bird varieties, including those targeted by Biodiversity Action Plans. Some of the work may even help alleviate flooding in lowland areas, benefit fish spawning grounds and help improve drinking water quality.

The Northern Uplands Moorland Regeneration Project has:

 Directly stimulated and grant aided biodiversity improvements over 214,466 acres of moorland and brought into management a further 69,710 acres through Countryside Stewardship and Wildlife Enhancement Schemes – in total an area over double the size of the North York Moors National Park.
 Created 18 full time rural sustainable jobs.
 Safeguarded 172 farming jobs and 49 moorland keepering positions and generated five part-time positions.
 Created 2,845 extra days of casual labour – mainly through an increased number of grouse shooting days. A further 15,000 casual days labour have been protected.
 Developed and delivered 45 integrated management plans involving 65 farms.
 Levered in £1.7 million of private landowner investment.

Looking to the future of one of Britain’s finest natural heritage resources, the report carries eight recommendations to Government and rural policy makers to ensure that the good work of the project is safeguarded and that further action to regenerate the remaining upland areas is pushed ahead.

Northern Upland Moorland Regeneration Project Chairman, Sir Anthony Milbank states in his foreword to the report: “DEFRA’s Countryside Stewardship Scheme has proved to be an excellent tool and pivotal to the success of the Project. However, for it to work across a wide area to regenerate moorland and make real and lasting improvements, requires a dedicated team - an Upland Regeneration Unit - to co-ordinate all the different interests, gain the trust of landowners and farmers, and enable all the work to happen on the ground.”

Said Chairman of the Moorland Association, Simon Bostock: “The results of this short-term project are both impressive and very encouraging, but it will take at least 10 years to restore our more degraded heather uplands, and hence we are calling for a ten-year vision with clear targets for our Uplands. In this report we have identified specific activities which lack suitable support from grant payment schemes currently on offer. We have also highlighted necessary changes to grazing legislation on commons, and the project has proven that Upland farmers are willing to change when given the technical support of a dedicated team – even in the most complicated scenarios of commons and differing land management objectives.


We now call on Government and their agencies to build upon the experience of the Northern Uplands Moorland Regeneration Project and to secure the future of existing heather moorland and breathe sustainable life back into the swathes that are seriously damaged.”

- Ends-
The full report is available on www.moorlandassociation.org


Notes to Editors
The Moorland Association’s aim is to halt the loss of heather moorland and to secure its future. Its members are responsible for the management of over 750,000 acres of the estimated 800,000 acres of heather moor remaining in England and Wales. The majority of these acres are managed for grouse shooting which provides the economic engine to carry out the essential habitat conservation.

The overall aim of the three-year project, instigated by the Moorland Association and funded by The European Objective 5b Programme, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (later DEFRA), and English Nature, and participating farmers and landowners, was to protect and improve heather moorland for the benefit of grouse, sheep and wildlife. In this instance, the dedicated team consisted of specially seconded staff from ADAS.

The Moorland Association and English Nature are working in collaboration through their joint Memorandum of Understanding (June 2002) for the sustainable future of the Uplands.