Landscape Matters Issue 4 FINAL - Flipbook - Page 18
5.
COP26 - Climate Culture
Merrick Denton-Thompson, FLI PPLI
THE CONFERENCE!
We will all have our own memories of
the COP26 conference, but I fear for most it will not have been
a very memorable event or one that should have embedded a
fundamental shift in world culture.
But for a Hampshire farm - the Cholderton Estate - used by
the Landscape profession as an example of best practice for
mixed farming, the COP26 conference was very memorable
indeed. The Model Land Management Plan for the estate
was entered into the Climate Challenge Cup, sponsored
by the Government. The Cup attracted entries from across
all industry in the UK and USA to award leadership and
innovation in tackling climate change. The Cholderton Estate
was an Award Winning Finalist in the top 6. The overall winner,
sponsored by the construction industry, proposes to lock up
carbon in concrete – brilliant idea, but do not ask me about the
chemistry.
For far too long the emphasis has been on development as
a driver of the economy; today we need to change direction
to nurture natural resources. This places a new imperative
on resource management to secure our survival. Our
Natural Capital is far more important as infrastructure than
motorways, hospitals and schools. Clean air, clean water,
healthy ecosystems are the fundamental building blocks of
life, followed by food and shelter. To that extent the Planning
system has failed us. We must adopt new disciplines to secure
the future of Natural Capital, resilience for local communities,
nature recovery for all land and water, the health and wellbeing
of everyone.
How can the Landscape Profession help?
A very high proportion of farms are managed by loan and
often isolated professional farmers whose focus until now
has been to produce food. Even farm advisers have a narrow
